Freedmans: The Beginning
by Kati Freedman
Summary: The arrival and first years of Baby King-Freedman. (Kati, in photo)
1. Chapter 1

**First Trimester**

"Yes, Charlotte. I'm sure," Addison says, turning the ultrasound machine to face her. "Two months, give or take a couple days."

"For Christ's sake," Charlotte closes her eyes, falling back against the pillow.

Addison glances at her, wiping the lubricant from her stomach.

"I think we know each well enough to know that you're not exactly pleased about this," Addison says, removing her gloves.

"When did you become a psychic?" Charlotte replies tartly.

"On you? About 10 minutes after meeting you and realizing you're about as maternal as a praying mantis."

Wordlessly, Charlotte sits up, sighing as she sits on the bed, her legs dangling.

"Well you're right," she says, giving Addison a dry look. "We all know I'm not a baby person. Lord knows why I married a man who would have a whole slew of 'em if he could."

"You gonna tell him?" Addison asks, hands on her hips as she looks at Charlotte.

They've worked together for years, now, and though they are in no way close, Addison still cares about her. Despite Charlotte's uncanny ability to come across as needing anything but a couple of girlfriends.

"Of course not," Charlotte replies, irritated.

But then she exhales, looking dejected. Miserable.

"I'll let you get dressed," Addison says. "And we'll...talk, when you...have something to talk about."

Charlotte looks at her, annoyed, and then Addison is gone.

"What the hell am I gonna do now," Charlotte mutters to herself.

* * *

"Cooper, would you stop grabbin' me?" Charlotte says crossly, pushing her husband away from her.

"What is up with you today?" Cooper asks, holding his hands up.

"Maybe I just don't like being felt up like a ninth grader all the time," she retorts.

"Really? I do," Cooper grins, coming to hug her again.

Charlotte groans and pushes past him before he can reach her.

"What?" Cooper asks, confused, as his wife retreats to the bedroom.

He sighs, dropping his hands.

"Ergh," he breathes, shaking his head, before heading towards the door.

He swings his jacket on, deciding to go and pick up Charlotte's favourite kind of fried chicken. Something he knows will cheer her up.

* * *

"Hungry?" Cooper asks, holding up the brown bag of greasy chicken.

"Starving," Charlotte replies, getting up from the couch where she has papers spread out around her.

They head into the kitchen to get plates.

"You're working yourself too hard," Cooper says, unpacking the bag.

"I'm a doctor," she retorts. "If I'm not workin' hard, I have no business bein' in the field of medicine."

Cooper smiles, shaking his head.

When he first met Charlotte, two years ago, he thought she was bossy, domineering, bitchy and mean. Somewhere along the way he started to find her sexy, irresistible, beautiful and enticing. But that doesn't mean she still doesn't exhibit the other traits, too.

"How was lunch with the Chief today?" Cooper asks, as they sit down at the table.

"Fine," Charlotte sighs. "Says he thinks I have all the traits of a chief of staff. But I'm not gettin' my hopes up. Last thing I need is some overconfident, cocky man thinkin' he can butter me up to get somethin' from me."

"He's right," Cooper says warmly. "You'd make an excellent chief."

Charlotte just rolls her eyes. Inside, she's terrified of failing; of not getting the job at all.

Cooper starts to talk about one of his patients, and all Charlotte can think about is the baby growing inside her. The baby Cooper will want, without question, and she is terrified of.

Strangely, after several bites of fried chicken, something she usually loves, her stomach churns. At first she thinks it's the nerves; the fear of motherhood. The fear of telling Cooper...the fear of everything. Then she realize this isn't psychosomatic at all. That chicken is coming up no matter what.

She gets up and bolts from the table, making it to the bathroom just in time for her stomach to reject everything she's put into it.

"Honey, are you okay?" Cooper asks, hurrying behind her.

"I'm fine, get out," she replies hoarsely, throwing her left arm behind her to push him away.

"No, you're sick," he says, bending down and gathering her silky blonde hair in his hands.

She heaves again, thinking that this is perfect. The day of her first ultrasound, she gets her first bout of insane morning sickness. At 6:00 PM.

Though, now that she thinks about it, she realizes that she's been queasy lately. Not all the time, but whenever she walks near the cafeteria.

_The food_, she thinks to herself._ It's the smells of the food._

Resting her head on her hands, she stays draped over the toilet.

"Did it just start? Or have you been feeling sick all day?" Cooper asks, concerned and ready to take care of her.

Cooper. Sweet, caring, attentive Cooper. She sits there on the bathroom floor, thinking of this man, the one holding her hair back and soothingly rubbing her back. She loves Cooper. She fought the feeling for a long time, until she just couldn't do it anymore. She knows she wants to be with him for the rest of her life. And she knows he wants children. They've argued about it, fought about it, and talked themselves dry about it. But they've been at a stalemate, deciding that they were not going to talk about it until Charlotte was ready to talk about it. And just then, she realizes that she's ready to talk about it. She has no choice but to be ready.

"Cooper," she says, weak from the exertion of being sick, her forehead resting on the back of her hand.

"Mmhmm?" he asks, rubbing her back and wanting to make her feel better.

Charlotte raises her head, turning to face him. She inhales, meeting his stare, and exhales as she stares into his perfect blue eyes.

"I'm pregnant."

"You're..." Cooper mumbles, staring at her in disbelief and looking dumbfounded. "You're..."

"Pregnant, Cooper," Charlotte says sharply. "I'm pregnant."

Instinctively, Cooper's hands slowly reach out for her stomach.

"No," Charlotte barks, slapping his hands away. "Do not start trying to cradle my uterus in your hands."

"Oh my god," Cooper says, his eyes tearing as happiness floods inside him like rain. "Charlotte."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte stands up, fighting the swaying, queasy feeling. She rinses her mouth as Cooper stands up, his eyes still alight and his lips in a permanent smile. Charlotte wanders out to the living room, and begins pacing, rubbing her forehead.

Understanding his wife and how she works, Cooper silently follows and sits on the couch, waiting for her to speak, and knowing that if he says the wrong thing, she'll explode.

"Stop smilin' like a cheshire cat, Cooper," she mutters. "This is not good news."

"Not good news?" Cooper repeats, looking incredulous. "Honey, this is incredible news. This is amazing."

"No," Charlotte bites. "No."

"Honey," Cooper says, seeing the glassy look of her eyes and the fear on her face. He leans forward, taking her hands in his and pulling towards him, down into his lap. "This is good news."

Charlotte's tough resolve is fading. Even she can't keep her hard shell on all the time. She's learned to take it off around Cooper.

"It's not," she whispers firmly, setting her jaw.

"Why not?" he asks.

Charlotte gives him a look, but he just raises his eyebrows.

"Tell me. Why not? What's so bad about two people who are married, in love, financially stable, successful... What's wrong with them having a baby?"

"You know exactly what's wrong with it, Cooper," Charlotte retorts, firing up again slightly. "I'd be about as good a mother as my own mama was. Distant. Gone. Cold."

"Are you kidding me?" Cooper says. "You will be an amazing mother."

Charlotte looks away from him, not wanting to cry; not wanting to believe him.

"You may not like to acknowledge it, but you are sweet, you are compassionate, you're loving, you're protective...this baby will be so lucky to have you as a mother."

Cooper smiles, trying to get Charlotte to see.

"Besides, imagine the kind of personality and chutzpah a King-Freedman will have."

At this, Charlotte's lips twitch slightly.

"Y'know what?" he grins, and she meets his eyes, still not smiling. "I hope it's a girl."

* * *

Violet stares, open-mouthed, as Cooper watches her with excitement.

"Isn't that amazing?" he asks, wide-eyed.

"Yes," she quickly nods. "Yeah. That's great. Congratulations!"

She smiles, still surprised.

"How's…Charlotte?" she asks carefully.

Cooper exhales, widening his eyes. "Well. You know Charlotte. She's…scared."

Violet nods slowly, as they both move to sit down on the couch in her office.

"I thought she'd never bend on her No Children stance," Violet says.

Cooper shrugs. "She's just scared. Y'know, she grew up with a pretty non-maternal mother, and…I think she's just scared that she'd do the same thing and her kids would feel about her, the way she feels about her mom."

Violet nods, listening; keeping her opinions to herself.

Personally, she hasn't gotten to see the side of Charlotte that Cooper does. A couple times, they've had a moment or two where they've been able to laugh, but Charlotte never accepts invitations or makes plans of her own to hang out with Violet or Addison, or Addison's former sister-in-law, Amelia, who recently joined their practice.

"I just don't believe that," Cooper goes on. "The Charlotte I love is going to be an amazing mother. I know it."

Violet softens, smiling.

"Yeah," she nods, seeing his side of things. "You're probably right. She doesn't think we see it, but there's a nicer version of her behind the Scary Charlotte."

"There is," Cooper insists. "Even if you guys only see her once in awhile. And I know this baby is going to make that side of her shine."

Violet smiles, happy to see her best friend so ecstatic.

"How far along is she?"

"Ten weeks," Cooper replies. "She'll be here February 14th. My Valentine's baby."

"She?" Violet raises her brow.

"It's a girl," he grins. "I just know it. I can feel it. And I don't want Addison to tell me, or Charlotte. I just feel like it's a girl."

Violet laughs.

"I can't believe you're finally getting a little Freedman," she says.

"Me neither," Cooper replies, unable to take the grin off his face.

He looks over at Violet and they laugh; his joy is contagious.

* * *

"_Charlotte _Charlotte?" Naomi stares at Addison.

"Do we know another one?" Addison replies dryly.

"Wow," Naomi nods slowly, taking this in. "How'd she take it?"

Addison shrugs, taking the lid off of her smoothie. "Exactly how you'd expect. Terrified, but trying to come across as annoyed."

"Babies change people, sometimes," Naomi shrugs. "Y'know, as soon as they see their child for the first time, something just clicks, and they become a parent. They fall in love."

Addison grins sympathetically. Naomi and her husband Sam have been trying to get pregnant for a couple years. The strain it's put on their relationship is clear to their friends.

Addison reaches over and squeezes her friend's arm. Naomi just smiles, straightening her posture.

"If it's meant to be, someday I'll feel that too."

Addison nods supportively.

"So how long will we be subjected to an even scarier Charlotte King?" Naomi asks, changing the subject.

"About seven months," Addison replies. "Due date is February 14th."

"A Valentine's baby," Naomi smiles, but it's soon replaced by a grimace. "And seven months of a hormonal Charlotte."

The door to the kitchen swings open and Charlotte walks in; her face it's usual pane of indifference.

"Hey," Addison smiles.

Charlotte glances over and as a second thought seems to decide to warm up. She offers a slight smile.

"Hi," she replies. She sees Naomi and then slowly closes her eyes, looking over at Addison. "I suppose everyone knows now?"

Addison presses her lips together.

"Sorry," she makes a face. "I couldn't help it."

She prepares for a tongue-lashing.

"Well, I suppose it's not long before I start lookin' like a prize heifer," Charlotte sighs.

"You look beautiful," Naomi replies, tilting her head. "You're so tiny you'll probably be wearing the same clothes for your entire pregnancy. Except for maybe a change in bra size."

"Every man's dream," Charlotte rolls her eyes.

It's quiet for a moment. Addison knows Charlotte's fighting with herself to forge somewhat of a friendship, and she doesn't want her to feel uncomfortable about it.

"So, are you having any symptoms?" she asks.

"As a matter of fact, three hours after you confirmed that little white stick, I started vomitin' like it was my job."

Naomi and Addison give her sympathetic looks.

"Yikes," Addison replies.

"Well," Charlotte takes a water from the fridge. "Better get used to it. For the next seven months, I am officially not in charge of my own body."

She gives them a forced smile and heads for the door.

"Well, you look great," Addison calls after her. "Glowing, even!"

They watch as Charlotte offers a wave and leaves.

"Ergh," Naomi grumbles. "We are in for a ride."


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Trimester**

"Baby looks great," Addison smiles, pushing away the ultrasound machine. "A bit small, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Were you a tiny baby?"

Charlotte watches as Addison wipes the lubricant from her belly.

"Five pounds, seven ounces," she replies tiredly.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Addison replies.

She picks up Charlotte's charts to write on them.

"Any other issues?" Addison asks.

She and Charlotte have managed to move past co-workers, to kind-of friends. The conversation comes easier, any way.

"Besides my porn-star boobs?" Charlotte replies sarcastically, sitting up.

Addison laughs. "Just think: some girls pay good money for those."

"Well, they can have 'em," Charlotte replies. "I wasn't lackin' before, and now they just get in way, and they're sore as a couple of bruises."

"The joys of pregnancy," Addison replies wistfully, smiling.

Charlotte chuckles.

"So, due date is still looking like mid-February. I'd say around the 14th to the 19th, depending on what kinda kid you've got in there. Might decide to take their time coming out."

"I was two weeks early," Charlotte replies. "Cooper was one week late."

"Somehow, that makes sense," Addison replies thoughtfully.

She jots down some more notes.

"And you're both against finding out the sex?" she asks again.

"I don't wanna know," Charlotte replies. "Cooper goes back and forth, but I think we should just leave the surprise."

"Yeah," Addison agrees, replacing the papers into Charlotte's file. "I think I'd want the surprise, too. Forget blue and pink. Go buy green and yellow."

"Agreed," Charlotte nods.

"Alright," Addison clasps her hands. "Well, no worries this far. Everything is looking great. I don't have to say all the things I say to my other patients because I see you about 80 hours a week."

She grins and Charlotte returns the comfortable smile.

"Can't decide if that's good or bad," she says. "You haven't been very forgiving of my cravings."

"Well, eating 12 pralines in a row," Addison says, tilting her head.

"Was delicious," Charlotte replies, raising an eyebrow.

Addison holds up her hands.

"Alright. We'll talk about it again if you start eating Betty Crocker icing by the spoonfuls."

"Never been a frosting girl," Charlotte answers, stepping onto the floor. "So we're safe there."

* * *

When she's putting her key into the door at home, the elevator opens and Cooper rushes out.

"Hey," he breathes. "I tried to get to you on time but Addison said you'd just left."

He looks concerned. He has been diligent about being at any appointments. This is the first one he's missed.

"It's alright," Charlotte waves it off, opening the door. "Everything's fine."

"She's the right size? Weight?" he asks, taking her bag off her shoulder and hanging it up for her.

"We don't know it's a girl," she replies, yawning.

"I do," Cooper grins.

"_The baby_," Charlotte replies. "Is small, but healthy."

Cooper smiles, relieved. As a paediatrician and a doctor, he would obviously know if something wasn't right. But he likes to hear it from Addison's mouth. Or at least relayed by his wife.

"And what would our tiny baby like for dinner?"

Charlotte chews her lip, pulling her hair from it's chignon. Her cravings have been…interesting.

"Let's hear it," Cooper says, hanging up his jacket and turning to envelope his wife. "It can't be any weirder than peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, with grape Jello."

"Ugh," Charlotte shudders. "I'm back off Jello."

"Well you've always hated it," Cooper shrugs. "And apparently our baby does, too, now. So. Dinner."

"Honestly," Charlotte replies, fingers pressing into her lower back. "I've had a craving for macaroni and cheese, and pad Thai. Together."

"Coming right up," Cooper grins, kissing her forehead.

Charlotte smiles as he happily retreats to the kitchen.

She hit the jackpot, when it comes to husbands. Hers is the sweetest, most compassionate and caring man she's ever known. Even when she's a terror.

* * *

An hour later, they're settled into the couch with platefuls of Charlotte's craving, while Cooper tells his wife about his hectic day in the ER.

"I swear to god, I've never seen a head bleed that much," he shakes his head. "This poor woman has six boys under eight years old, and she's trying to hold onto two of them while the oldest gets his forehead sewn back together."

Charlotte shakes her head.

"I'm terrified enough about one," she replies. "Don't even think about imagining five more."

Cooper laughs.

"Well," he says, playing. "Let's see how you feel after you see how beautiful this one is."

"You'd love that," Charlotte replies, spooning pasta into her mouth. "Years and years with these ridiculous boobs and insane food cravings."

"I do benefit from both," Cooper shrugs.

Charlotte shoves at him playfully, but grins as he comes back towards her, kissing her.

"And I've already had one today…" he says slowly.

Charlotte's hormones are obviously out of whack, but her sex drive hasn't been diminished yet. Grinning at her husband, she lets him take her empty plate away as he kisses her again.

* * *

A few weeks later, Charlotte goes in for another check-up. As scared as she is of being a mother; of possibly inflicting the same kind of lonely childhood that her own mother did to her, Charlotte realized at the end of her first trimester that she was starting to feel something for the baby. At first, it didn't seem real. But slowly, she began to accept it. She absently has one hand on her belly whenever she's sitting at her desk, working. And she's strict about her appointments with Addison, always arriving early. And she's even caught herself noticing other babies, and thinking of names in her head.

She's a person she never thought she'd be.

At this appointment, Cooper is there before her, unwilling to miss another one. He helps her onto the bed and pays attention to everything Addison says. And when she places the sensor on his wife's swelling belly and hears his baby's heartbeat again, his throat constricts and his eyes fill.

Charlotte, though, isn't this emotional about it yet. She hasn't cried over heartbeats or sonograms; only over her husband being stupid or her hormones forcing her to sob over a ripped pair of tights or a scuffed shoe.

"Baby looks great," Addison announces, smiling at them.

They've known Addison for almost four years, but now they're actually starting to form a real bond with her. Cooper has always gotten along with her, but he loves that his wife is getting there, too. With Violet, as well. And Charlotte getting along with Violet has always been important to him. Violet has been his best friend since their junior year at university.

"Any concerns? Besides the urge to eat Milk Duds by the box?" Addison asks.

"That's not a concern," Charlotte corrects. "That's a necessity."

"Whatever you say," Addison replies with a grin.

"You don't think the baby's _too _small, do you?" Cooper asks, concerned.

"No," Addison shakes her head. "It's fine. Some babies are 10 pounds, some are five. Looks like yours is going to be closer to the five-pound range."

He nods, feeling better.

"Charlotte was tiny," he shrugs. "I guess it's to be expected."

"Don't worry," Addison squeezes his arm. "Baby Freedman is looking perfect."

* * *

That night, Baby Freedman wants fried chicken.

"Like mama, like baby," Charlotte sighs, biting into a leg.

Cooper eats his fill and settles back against the couch as Criminal Minds plays on the TV. His hand lays across his wife's belly; his constant position when she's close enough.

As the actors move across the screen, pursuing a suspect, a gunshot rings out and a soft thump pushes against Cooper's hand as his wife jumps.

Surprised, he looks up at her.

"Did you…" he starts, his eyes widening. "I mean, did the baby just-"

"Yeah," Charlotte breathes, looking at him feeling scared and excited. "It kicked."

They laugh nervously, both clutching her stomach now.

"Oh my god," Cooper breathes, both palms splayed across his wife's abdomen.

Charlotte's heart speeds up a bit as her eyes start to tingle. She knows she's pregnant; obviously. But this is the first time the baby as actually kicked. Actually letting its presence be known in a way other than a bulging belly.

Cooper looks up at her and Charlotte smiles through her glassy eyes, and then he presses his lips to his wife's belly.

He's been talking to Charlotte's stomach since the night he found out his baby was growing in it. And finally his baby has responded. He keeps his mouth close to the rounded stomach, talking softly to his child, as his wife smiles at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Third Trimester**

"Honey, you look beautiful," Cooper insists, as his wife stomps back into the closet.

She stops and storms back out, staring at him with wild eyes.

"Beautiful?" she hisses. "I am a planet!"

Cooper exhales, his head dropping into his hands as Charlotte goes back into the closet.

He thought the pregnancy was going so perfectly, and then the second trimester closed in on the third, and Charlotte's touchy hormones became explosive. He's managed to piss her off every day for the past couple weeks. And ever since Christmas and New Year's, Charlotte's been feeling even more uncomfortable and huge.

"You are not a planet," he replies, watching as she marches out of the closet wearing dress pants. The new dress pants that she just bought…from the maternity store.

"I am wearing maternity pants, Cooper," she snaps.

"You're almost eight months pregnant," Cooper replies gently. "You still fit most of your clothes! So what if you need some stretch in the waist band!"

Charlotte's blue-green eyes fix on his, and his own blue eyes widen.

_Dammit,_ he thinks. _Idiot._

"I'm sorry," he says automatically.

But Charlotte is already clearly disgusted with him. She snaps up her blazer and leaves with a final glare at her husband.

* * *

"Is there a reason you're hiding out in here like a beaten dog?" Sam, Naomi's husband, pokes his head into Cooper's office.

Cooper just raises his brow.

"Aside from your terrifying, pregnant wife," Sam reiterates.

"There is no 'aside' right now," Cooper replies dryly.

Sam chuckles, coming into the office.

"Come on," he nods towards the door. "Let's go get some lunch."

Cooper exhales, pushing his paperwork away from him.

"Yeah," he nods. "Lunch sounds good."

He grabs his jacket and follows Sam. They stop in the kitchen, where Addison, Amelia, Violet, Naomi and Charlotte are. Sam goes to kiss his wife as Cooper goes to slide an arm around his own.

"Sam and I are going to grab some lunch," he says gently. "Can I bring you anything? A taco? Maybe a sandwich?"

Charlotte just looks at him, annoyed.

"A taco? After you just watched me try to squeeze my monstrous ass into maternity pants? You think I want a taco?"

He clamps his mouth shut and Charlotte pushes past him and leaves the kitchen.

He hangs his head, exhales, and then looks up at his friends.

"Don't worry, man," Sam claps him on the shoulder. "You're in the home stretch."

* * *

That night, Cooper gets home late. Charlotte is in bed. The TV is on but he's sure she's not watching it. She looks miserable.

"Hey, honey," he says gently.

And just like that, Charlotte's eyes fill and begin to overflow.

Quickly, he drops his briefcase and hurries over to her.

"Hey, hey," he calms her, holding her against him and kissing her head. "It's okay."

"No it's not," she cries, more exhausted than angry.

"What's going on?" he asks carefully.

"I'm so tired. I'm so tired, and I can't sleep because I can't get comfortable, because the baby is sleeping right on my bladder and I have to pee every 10 minutes, and my ankles are the size of tree trunks, and my back hurts and I'm enormous and somehow my boobs got bigger and I just _don't want to be pregnant anymore!"_

She doesn't sob but she's crying, and he just sits and holds her, running a hand over her back.

"You're being so strong, honey," he soothes. "And you're almost there. I wish I could do this for you. I really do."

She doesn't snap, she just melts against him and relieves the mounting pressure in her chest.

Fluidly, Cooper moves so she can lay more comfortably, and he slowly begins to massage her lower back. He runs his strong hands up and down her back and her neck until her breathing regulates and she begins to relax.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, after 20 minutes of her husband kneading the pain from her back.

"For what?" Cooper asks, frowning.

"For being a first-class bitch," she replies.

"Honey, you're pregnant," he replies kindly. And that's reason enough. "I can't even imagine how you're feeling every day. I just want to make you more comfortable. Whatever you need."

She breathes the breaths of someone who recently stopped crying. Her voice sounds thick.

"I want the baby out," she replies.

"Me too," Cooper agrees. "Just a few more weeks."

They're quiet again, as Cooper's tired hands massage her tense back.

"What can I do?" he asks.

"Right now?" she replies, her voice small.

"Mmhmm."

"Ice cream. With brownies and cookie dough in it."

He grins, leaning down to kiss her head.

"You got it," he promises.

* * *

At the beginning of February, Charlotte is back in Addison's office for a check-up. Potentially the last one before the baby comes.

"The baby's perfect," Addison smiles, turning the sonogram to face them, with the baby's midsection covered with a magnet. "I'd like the weight to be a little higher, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with some milk from Mama."

"Well that won't be a problem," Charlotte replies dryly. "I've been leakin' for weeks, like some kind of useless faucet."

Addison smiles kindly.

"You're a trooper," she says, wiping the lubricant from Charlotte's swollen belly.

"I'm tired," she counters.

"Well, if the baby agrees with the due date, you've only got 10 days to go."

"Darn well better agree," Charlotte replies, raising her brow. "That's enough time in the oven. Time to get out here and give my ankles and my back a break."

Cooper takes her home after. Both of them are off work. Charlotte's on maternity leave, and Cooper's off until the baby comes and he feels okay about leaving Charlotte and his baby at home. He wishes he could stay with them, and even Charlotte is talking about going back to work after six months. Cooper doesn't want a nanny raising their baby, and neither does Charlotte, so somewhere along the next few months, they're gonna have to come to an agreement.

He sets Charlotte up on the couch with an electric blanket against her back and a fresh box of popsicles in the freezer. Charlotte's gone through three boxes of 24, in just under seven days. It's a constant craving.

Sleep is even harder to come by, as the baby plays around Charlotte's bladder and her boobs continue to leak and her back aches all the time. Cooper is always busy trying to get her more comfortable, but he's afraid they're both gonna have no luck until this baby decides to come out.

* * *

February 14th comes and Charlotte wakes up to flowers and chocolate and pralines. She does her best to be kind and patient with her husband, but she's miserable. Her body hurts and she is just ready for this baby.

She wakes up believing that today will be the day.

"Is the bag by the door?" she asks Cooper, as she wiggles around the electric blanket.

"Ready and waiting," Cooper nods.

"Alright. Get a knitting needle," she groans. "Let's just break my water and speed this up."

Cooper chuckles and gives her a sympathetic look as he sits down beside her and starts to rub cocoa butter lotion on her belly. He loves running his hands over his wife's burgeoning belly. Loves knowing that his baby is beneath his hands, coming out to meet them at any moment.

Charlotte's just exhausted.

When the afternoon passes and the evening starts with no indication of the baby coming, she drops her head back against the couch and closes her eyes. She doesn't let herself cry, but she's so frustrated that she wants to.

"Alright, listen," she holds her belly, looking down at it. "You've had a good nine months livin' in there, cushy and comfortable. But it's time to come out. Give your mama a break and get out here so she can get a good look at ya."

She breathes through her discomfort.

Eventually, she manages to fall into a restless sleep.

* * *

The 15th comes and goes. Then the 16th. Then the 17th.

On the morning of February 17th, she growls angrily. She's too uncomfortable and her stomach seems to be stretched too big; it aches with wanting to get the baby out.

"I can't take this anymore," she cringes. "We need to hurry this up."

"Well. We can make you eat pineapple, or spicy food, or you can bounce on that ball, or we can go for a walk, or," he gives her a sidelong glance. "We can go back to square one and practice making the baby all over again."

Charlotte glares at him.

"It's in the book!" he defends himself. "Sex can induce pregnancy when you're this close!"

She shakes her head, laying back against the couch with her legs spread in a large V, and her feet on the coffee table.

"This baby is coming out," she breathes. "Now."

* * *

Even will can't mess with Charlotte King. Around 10:00 PM, she starts getting cramps. She assumes it's just the normal discomfort she's been feeling and tries to walk around the apartment. She breathes deeply, as each cramp rises and falls.

"You okay?" Cooper asks, watching her from the couch.

She just shakes her head, breathing.

"What is it gonna take," she says, fed up. "To get this baby to-"

They both stop and stare as a flood of water splashes to the floor beneath her.

Their eyes meet, wide, and then Cooper jumps up as Charlotte throws her head back, exhaling loudly.

"Oh my god!" she breathes. "_Thank _you!"

* * *

They meet Addison at the hospital. She smiles excitedly as she greets them and gets vitals from Cooper.

"How far apart are your contractions?" she asks.

"'Bout three minutes," Charlotte replies, breathing carefully through one.

"Wow," Addison raises her brow. "That's great. Nice and close."

They get her into a room and get her set up.

As Addison reaches to check her cervix, she frowns up at Charlotte.

"Charlotte, how long have you been having contractions?"

"Not long," Charlotte breathes. "My water only broke an hour ago."

"Yes, but your contractions must have been going for awhile. You're eight centimetres."

"Eight?" Cooper says loudly, staring. Fear is starting to clutch him. Fear and excitement.

"How did you feel this morning?" Addison asks.

"Like I always feel," Charlotte replies, tired. "Uncomfortable."

"Yes, but any discomfort? Any _new _discomfort?"

"I guess," Charlotte frowns in pain. "I just assumed it was cramping. I ate a lot of salsa last night, tryin' that spicy food myth to get things goin'."

Addison shakes her head, an amused smile on her face.

"Those were contractions," she announces. "So you've been in labour for about 11 hours."

Charlotte looks at her, confused. She's exhausted and uncomfortable and so ready for this baby to come out. She just lets her head fall back against the pillow as nurses help Addison prepare, and Cooper stays by her side, pushing damp hair from her forehead.

Around 12:30 AM, she starts to push, at Addison's order.

She declined the epidural; the last thing she needs is to feel that impossibly strong need for a narcotic she's spent too long putting behind her.

She writhes as each contraction rips through her, trying to control her screams but eventually giving in. She yells as her insides are scooped out by an invisible claw, leaving her breathless and desperate for it to stop.

She gasps after pushing for 20 minutes.

"You're so close, Charlotte," Addison encourages her. "I can almost see the head."

"Come on, baby," Cooper breathes into her ear. "You're almost there."

She breathes heavily and then inhales before pushing as hard as she can, letting out another yell. Cooper runs a cold cloth across her forehead again. Breathe. Push.

"I can see the head!" Addison announces, smiling up at Charlotte before looking back down. "Two more, Charlotte. Two more."

Charlotte pushes as her body splits apart. She feels like she's been running at top speed for hours, and then got hit by a truck. But she takes a breath, silently ordering her baby that this is the last one; after this, that baby better be out.

She pushes until she gasps desperately for a breath and then suddenly, she hears it.

A cry that she's never heard before, but somehow feels that she's known it forever. She can see Cooper and Addison smiling and moving their mouths, but she only hears, only sees, her baby.

The tiny purple and red fists appear, and then her baby is laid across her belly, crying at the top of her lungs.

Yes. Her.

Her daughter.

"It's a girl," Cooper cries, his eyes full, and Charlotte can't even look up at him as he kisses her.

All she sees is this baby, hollering at her. All she sees are the long fingers, the perfect whorl of her ear, the flawless nose, the mass of dark, curly hair. The angry circle of her perfect mouth as she cries, furious at being forced from her cushy home.

Charlotte doesn't even realize she's crying. All she cares about is her daughter. Hers. The idea seems insane and right all at once. She barely takes note of the camera in Cooper's hands that he passes to a nurse so he can take the scissors from Addison and cut the umbilical cord.

"Honey, you were amazing," he bends down and kisses his wife, before turning his eyes once again to his baby. "She's beautiful. Oh my god, she's perfect."

Charlotte stifles a sob. She can't stop touching her baby. A nurse starts to rub her with the baby blanket but Charlotte moves her hands away and pulls her daughter closer, resting her against her chest.

The baby slowly stops screaming, and begins to make a quieter sound. Like a whimper. Calmer.

"Honey, they need to take her," Cooper urges her gently.

Charlotte knows this; she's seen hundreds of births. But now she can't imagine letting this nurse take away her baby. She clutches her, but Cooper gently begins to lift his daughter.

"It's okay, honey," he promises Charlotte.

"Go with her," she cries to him, her face streaked with tears and swollen.

Cooper goes with their baby and she tries to watch as they weigh her, measure her. She's unaware of Addison delivering the placenta between her legs.

"Lucky you," Addison suddenly jolts her from her weary silence. "She was so small, you won't need any stitches."

She chuckles drunkenly. She and Addison had had a terrifying conversation about episiotomies.

It's an eternity before Cooper returns, holding the impossibly tiny bundle that is their baby. He immediately places her in her mother's arms, knowing Charlotte needs this. Needs to have her baby in her arms.

Cleaned up, glowing pink, Charlotte feasts her eyes again on her baby. And she knows, suddenly, that she would know this face anywhere. She would recognize every feature, every note in her cry. She would know this baby was hers.

Cooper brushes away a tear from her cheek as her eyes stream.

Addison stands beside the bed, smiling at her friends; her own eyes tearing.

"So?" Cooper says gently, full of emotion and joy. "What's her name?"

They'd talked about names, but nothing ever stuck. He hated the names she liked: June, Marjorie, Beth. And she hated his choices: Rachel, Julie, Cleo. But right now, seeing his wife with their daughter; seeing the love in her eyes and the absolute devotion to their baby; just like he knew would happen…right now, he can't hate any name she puts forth.

Charlotte smiles, watching her daughter sleep, adoring her with every inch of her.

"Katelyn," she finally says, and the baby sighs in her sleep.

Cooper gently runs his finger across the impossibly smooth plane of his daughter's cheek.

"Katelyn Charlotte Freedman," he smiles.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm not going back in there," Shannon, the day nurse, raises an eyebrow at Addison.

Addison frowns, confused.

"She doesn't need a nurse, Dr. Montgomery," Shannon continues, finishing her paperwork. "She doesn't even let anyone touch the baby, let alone take her to the nursery. Dr. King said she wants to be discharged, and if you don't do it, she'll do it herself."

Addison attempts a smile and nods once.

"Thanks Shannon," she says, taking Charlotte and the baby's charts. "Have a good night."

Shannon raises her eyebrows and gives a wave before turning and walking down the hallway. Letting out a breath, Addison enters Charlotte's hospital room.

Katelyn is asleep on Charlotte's chest, while Charlotte herself lies with her eyes closed. But she wakes up and looks over as Addison gets nearer to the bed; looking up like a disturbed grizzly.

"Y'know, the nurses are just trying to do their jobs," Addison says, raising an eyebrow at Charlotte.

"I should like to think I'm perfectly capable of takin' care of my own child," Charlotte replies, unbothered.

"Would it be the worst thing if the nurses took her to the nursery for a couple hours, so you could get some sleep?"

"It would be unnecessary," Charlotte replies. "I don't want her thrown into a pile of newborns where some incompetent nurse gets her mixed up with someone else's baby."

"Because that's likely," Addison gives her a look.

"She's fine right where she is," Charlotte repeats, and Addison chuckles.

"And you thought you wouldn't be a good mother," she teases.

Charlotte doesn't reply. She's busy lifting Katelyn so she can lie on her back and Charlotte can check her diaper.

"How's Miss Katelyn doing today?" Addison asks, coming to stand beside Charlotte. "I'd ask the nurses but they'd have no idea, would they."

"She's just fine," Charlotte replies, ignoring the second comment. "Barely makes a sound unless she's hungry or needs a fresh diaper."

"Well that can't be right," Addison frowns, and Charlotte's head snaps up to look at her. "Any kid of yours definitely can't be quiet and laid back."

Charlotte tilts her head, giving Addison a dry look.

"I had no idea you were so hilarious," she says dryly.

Addison laughs, bending down to pick up Katelyn. It's a testament to their friendship now that Charlotte even lets her. But over the last seven months, the two of them have become friends.

"I gotta admit," she says, shaking her head at the baby. "You two have made a seriously beautiful baby."

"You're telling' me," Charlotte replies, pride seeping from her words like syrup, as she smiles at her daughter.

"I was so sure she'd have blonde hair," Addison says, running a hand over Katelyn's thick dark curls. "Guess those Freedman genes are strong."

"Dark hair and blue eyes," Charlotte grins. "She's gonna be a heartbreaker."

"And that," Cooper says, announcing his entrance into the room. "Is why I'll be purchasing weaponry in the near future."

Addison laughs and Charlotte smiles at her husband.

"Oh, I feel sorry for the man that wants to marry you, little one," Addison says to Katelyn, still stroking her hair. "Between your mom and your dad, he hasn't got a hope in hell."

"Do not say 'hell' to my child, Addison," Charlotte says, mocking a stern tone.

"Right," Addison scoffs, handing over Katelyn when Charlotte puts her hands out. "Because that's the worst thing she'll hear in her life, living with Charlotte King."

Charlotte just rolls her eyes and Addison goes back to their charts.

"How are my girls?" Cooper asks, bending down to kiss his daughter.

"In the last three hours since you were here?" Addison teases.

Cooper just smiles.

"I had a nurse ready to quit your wife's service 10 minutes ago," Addison informs him.

Cooper doesn't seem very surprised, but Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Because I don't need some inexperienced teenager handling my child? Let her quit."

"She's 26, Charlotte," Addison shakes her head.

"Sure don't look like it," comes Charlotte's quick rebuttal.

Addison laughs. Charlotte will always be Charlotte.

"Well, I'm afraid if I don't discharge you I'll come in to find an empty room anyways, so," she says, eyeing Charlotte. "You both are free to go."

"You might change your mind on that," Cooper says to Charlotte.

She looks up, puzzled.

"Your mother called," Cooper responds. "Several hours ago."

Charlotte tilts her head, already annoyed.

"Something tells me there's more to this story," she says.

"And she's at our house," Cooper finishes.

"Dammit, Cooper," Charlotte frowns.

"I'm sorry! But the time I talked to her, she was at the airport. And you know her! She's about as easily persuaded as you are."

Charlotte scowls, peeling off Katelyn's clothes and reaching over for one of the onesies she had packed in her bag.

"Well," she sighs, buttoning up the purple pyjamas. "I suppose the sooner she comes, the sooner she'll leave. No use tryin' to talk to her. She could start an argument in an empty house."

Cooper raises his eyebrows in agreement.

"Let's go and get it over with," Charlotte says, moving slowly to get off the bed, wincing. "I don't need a house full of visitors when we've got a new baby to take care of."

* * *

"Oh, let me see her!" comes an excited demand, as Charlotte enters the house, followed by Cooper who's carrying Katelyn in her car seat.

Charlotte rolls her eyes so hard she almost throws her back out.

Evaline King comes around the corner, hurrying toward the baby, barely acknowledging her daughter.

Cooper helps Charlotte with her jacket as Evaline helps herself to her granddaughter.

"Be careful, Mama," Charlotte demands.

Her mother gives her a disdainful look as she lifts Katelyn up. "Oh, please. I raised three babies myself; you included. I think I can handle my grand baby."

"Wouldn't be so sure about that," Charlotte mutters so quietly only Cooper hears.

But as soon as Evaline has Katelyn settled in her arms, the baby starts to cry.

"Oh," Evaline frowns, trying to soothe her. "What's wrong? Is she colic?"

"No, she is not colic, Mama," Charlotte retorts, taking her daughter.

"Well I can calm her down," Evaline protests, but as soon as Katelyn is in her mother's arms, she quiets down, settling against her. Evaline clamps her mouth shut, and Charlotte hides her pleasure at having her baby feel better just by being in her arms.

"Tea?" Cooper announces loudly, hoping to dispel the tension a bit.

"That would be lovely, Cooper," Evaline replies politely, and Cooper kisses Charlotte and heads for the kitchen.

Evaline follows Charlotte into the bedroom area.

She and Cooper are still living in their loft, and the baby doesn't officially have a room yet. Just an area of the large open space where her crib, dresser, and change table are set up.

"I should hope you're plannin' on movin' into a real house now," Evaline says, eyeing the apartment with an air of scorn.

"No, Mama. We're staying here and all living in one bedroom, until Kati goes off to college," Charlotte retorts.

Evaline just rolls her eyes. She follows Charlotte over to where the change table and baby's dresser are.

"Well, I picked her up a few things," she tells Charlotte, starting to unload the bag.

Charlotte softens, watching as her mother sets out one item of clothing after another.

"Thanks, Mama," she says quietly, touching a pair of pyjamas with a giraffe on the front.

"And I was thinkin' she could wear this for her first photographs," Evaline says, holding up a pink dress.

Charlotte stares at it in horror.

"Isn't it darlin'?" Evaline smiles.

"No," Charlotte replies bluntly.

"What are you talkin' about? You wore almost the same one when you were born."

"And I've never gotten over it," Charlotte replies, giving her mother a sarcastic smile.

Evaline stares, offended.

"I'm sorry, Mama, but I'm not puttin' that sort of thing on my child."

"Well," Evaline scoffs, offended, stashing it back in the bag, and starting to put back the other stuff.

In a moment of guilt, Charlotte sighs and reaches over, picking up the giraffe pyjamas before her mother can.

"This one's nice," she offers.

Evaline's air of irritation dissipates.

"Well, I know you always liked giraffes," she responds quietly.

Charlotte offers her a rare, small smile.

Things like this take her by surprise. It's like when she was 14 and her mother came home with a bag, and Charlotte was poised for an argument, figuring it was another ridiculous dress that her mother would try and make her wear to some ridiculous dinner. Only it was a dress that Charlotte actually liked, and she'd stared at it, in shock, almost unable to thank her mother. She was usually all about what she wanted, never caring what Charlotte wanted. It's one of the things Charlotte vowed to never do to Kati.

"Well," Evaline says, smoothing the front of her dress; always dressed for a garden party. "Let's go see about that tea."

* * *

"Turn her head, Charlotte," Evaline orders, watching as Charlotte attempts to breastfeed.

"I am, Mama," Charlotte replies, exasperated.

"Well she's not latchin' on, now, is she?" Evaline replies.

"She has every time before this!" Charlotte retorts.

Cooper gives his wife a sympathetic look, even though she can't see. It's been two days of Evaline and Charlotte bickering. Every night, Evaline goes to her hotel, and every morning, at 7:00 sharp, she's back. He doesn't want to tell his mother-in-law to leave, but he can see his wife growing more and more weary.

As Kati finally latches on, Charlotte closes her eyes with relief. Now her mother can't pick at her. For this, at least.

"Now," Evaline says, already on to her next project. "I've printed off some real estate in the nicer areas. You two need somethin' with space, and at least three bedrooms."

Charlotte looks up at Cooper, her eyes hard and fed up.

"Oh, thanks, Evaline," Cooper says kindly. "We've actually got a few places lined up to look at."

Charlotte looks at him, surprised.

"Oh?" Evaline says, sure that her suggestions are better. "Where?"

Cooper produces a small pile of papers, and Charlotte silently thanks him. _Bless my husband_, she thinks to herself.

Evaline takes the papers and looks through them, one eyebrow raised as she hums at some of them.

"Well," she says, straightening the sheets of paper. "I should think some of those would be just perfect for the three of you."

Charlotte exhales, relieved that her mother has no ammo from this.

"Well," she suddenly stands up, straightening her dress. "I suppose I'll be going home, then. Everything here seems to be alright."

Charlotte eyes her, careful, waiting for a hit.

"Although if she doesn't start eating better, I'd like to think a paediatrician would step in," she gives Cooper a stern look.

_And there it is_, Charlotte shakes her head.

"She's fine, Evaline," Cooper replies patiently. "She's already gained a pound since we've been home, and she's clearing out Charlotte's reserves every day."

"Reserves," Evaline frowns, unimpressed with his humour. "I say."

She shakes her head, walking over to Charlotte and Kati. She bends down and kisses the baby.

"You take care of her," she tells Charlotte. "And yourselves."

She adds it as an afterthought.

She doesn't attempt to kiss or hug Charlotte goodbye, and Charlotte wouldn't expect her to.

Instead, she walks to the door and takes her jacket off the hook. She looks back and gives them her signature half smile, says goodbye, and leaves.

They're silent for a few moments after she closes the door, and then Cooper slowly turns and meets Charlotte's eyes. They look at each other and then Cooper rolls his eyes backwards with intense relief, falling into the couch dramatically.

"Evaline King, ladies and gentlemen," Charlotte says under her breath.


	5. Chapter 5

At one month old, Katelyn, or Kati as she's referred to by everyone now, is looking more like a little person. Her thick curls have made no attempt to thin out or change colour, and her eyes have whirled from dark, newborn-baby blue to a beautiful ocean blue, with flecks of green. They sit in her chubby face, large and framed by thick lashes; the exact shape and wide-eyed look as Charlotte's. She has long fingers that Cooper can't wait to make dance along the keys of a piano, and a set of lungs to match her mother's.

"Good lord," Addison stares, watching as Charlotte goes over and plucks a howling Kati out of her play chair. "And here I thought she was a dream baby."

"She is," Charlotte replies, slightly offended. "She just doesn't like bein' hungry, is all."

"Well, she _is _her father's daughter," Addison shrugs. "With her mother's lungs."

Charlotte shakes her head, a slight smile playing across her lips.

Charlotte looks around.

"What do you need?" Addison asks, ready to help her out.

The entire living room is almost full of packed boxes.

"Um," Charlotte hesitates, used to, and happy with, doing things for herself. "There should be a receiving blanket in here. I just had one."

Addison looks around and finds one behind her, on the couch.

"Thank you," Charlotte says, as Addison hands it over. "Ugh. I can't wait until we move and my life isn't in boxes."

"Yeah, I can imagine that's a real pain in the ass, with a new baby," Addison nods. "Two more days, though, right?"

"Yep," Charlotte breathes, sitting down beside Addison with Kati, so she can feed her.

She and Cooper finally found the perfect house. After Evaline left, Cooper showed Charlotte the stack of places he'd found online, so it wasn't another thing Charlotte had to worry about. So they went and looked at about 13 different houses around Los Angeles. Their home turned out to be a large, open-concept spread up in the hills. Three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, big kitchen, sunroom, large windows and a corner lot, with a giant backyard, complete with a deck, built-in barbecue and a pool.

Charlotte had balked at the pool, not wanting Kati around it, but Cooper promised to get a hard cover for it, and Charlotte loved the house so much that she couldn't say no.

When they'd left with the realtor and Charlotte had looked back across the vibrant green lawn to the big, capri-blue house, she knew it was home; pool or no pool.

"Did I tell you that Sam and Naomi almost broke up?" Addison asks, leaning on her hand as Charlotte feed Kati.

Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

"For what?"

Addison rolls her eyes, waving it off. "Ah, I dunno. They're always arguing lately. I think the whole baby thing is really getting to her."

"Ah," Charlotte nods, watching Kati. "So she's probably hatin' on me right now."

"No," Addison shakes her head. "She's just hating on her uterus, I think. I mean, it probably hurts for her to see you and Cooper with who is probably the world's most adorable baby. Ever. But she doesn't hate you."

"Definitely the most adorable," Charlotte replies, running a finger over her daughter's velvet cheek.

"They're still coming to your housewarming," Addison adds. "I think."

"Are we still doin' that?" Charlotte makes a face.

"Yes," Addison replies sternly. "You already refused us a baby shower, so we are doing this housewarming. Just don't be surprised if most of your 'housewarming' gifts are for Kati."

Charlotte chuckles.

Addison's phone goes off and she checks the message.

"You really didn't need to make a house call," Charlotte tells her. "I'm sure that message means your services are required somewhere else."

"It wasn't really a house call," Addison shrugs, stashing her phone. "I just wanted to see my niece."

Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

"Oh, I am _absolutely_ considering myself Auntie Addison," she replies, giving Charlotte a look. "Just like she'll have an Auntie Violet, and Auntie Naomi, and Auntie Amelia, and-"

"I got it," Charlotte stops her. "My child will not be lacking in family, that's for sure."

Addison grins, reaching over to touch Kati's head.

"But I do have to run," she says, getting up. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will," Charlotte replies.

"No you won't," Addison teases. "You're about as good at asking for help as you are at peeing while standing up."

"And how do you know I can't?" Charlotte raises her eyebrow.

"Ha ha," Addison rolls her eyes, putting on her shoes. "At least I know you'll call if _Kati _needs anything."

Charlotte smiles as Addison throws on her jacket, gives her a grin and leaves.

"An army of doctors behind you, baby girl," Charlotte says softly to Kati, her tiny head in her mother's palm. "Let's just pray you never need 'em."

* * *

The move into the new house is a lot less hectic than Charlotte was expecting. Movers do most of the work, and she and Cooper spend the next two days unpacking and arranging their new home. Their third day in the house is when Addison and Violet have their housewarming party planned. Everyone comes over bearing bags of stuff. Charlotte is up in Kati's new room, painting the walls giraffe-print, when Addison, Violet, Amelia and Naomi barge in.

"Oh my god, I love it!" Amelia stares at the walls.

They hear a small cry and look around.

"Where is she?" Addison demands, eager to see her baby niece.

"She's sleepin' in mine and Cooper's room," Charlotte gestures, setting down her paintbrush. "Right across the hall there."

All four women hurry away, and Charlotte can't help but smile.

She wipes the spatters of paint from her hands as Cooper arrives with Pete, Sam and Sheldon, the practice's new psychiatrist who started a few months ago.

"Wow," Pete grins, looking around. "I didn't know you had it in you, Char."

"Oh, come on now," Charlotte tilts her head, dropping the cloth from her hands.

"Yeah, that's a lie," Pete admits. "Pretty sure there's nothing you'd let be done half-assed. It looks great. I've never seen a giraffe-print anything. Just tiger and leopard."

"Charlotte's got a soft spot for giraffes," Cooper grins, kissing his wife. "And it's looking like Kati will too."

"Where is that gorgeous baby?" Sam asks, looking around with a smile.

"Being mauled by her four aunties," Charlotte nods her head towards the hallway.

Cooper beckons the guys to continue following him for the tour, and they head into the other bedroom, where the women are fawning over Kati.

Charlotte takes the opportunity to hop in the shower and wash off the brown and beige shades of paint covering her.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, she finds Kati's crib empty and hurries to get dressed. Downstairs, Violet and Naomi are in the kitchen preparing food, and everyone else is out in the backyard, lounging on the chairs by the pool as Cooper and Pete congregate in front of the built-in grill, where steaks are sizzling.

"Where's my baby girl?" Charlotte asks, squinting in the sunlight.

"I'm never giving her back," Addison replies, cuddling the baby.

Charlotte knows she's going to be hungry pretty soon, so she leaves Kati nestled in Addison's arms for now, knowing Addison is loving every minute of it. After her recent divorce from her husband, Derek, Addison has been freaking out about babies. She's scared that she's lost her chance, now that she's divorced, and she's being stubborn about listening to reason. She's got her head stuck in a place that thinks being almost 30 and divorced is "old".

Charlotte goes and kisses her husband, smiling at him.

"Room looks amazing, honey," he smiles happily.

Charlotte grins, and Violet and Naomi announce their entrance into the backyard.

"We have appetizers!" Naomi calls out.

Everyone moves towards the table top, as the spread gets laid out. Addison ignores the plates being handed out, choosing to remain focused on Kati. But Kati works like an alarm clock, and begins to fuss.

"Oh, what did I do?" Addison frowns.

"You aren't producing milk," Charlotte replies, taking her daughter.

"Ah, fine," Addison says. "I'll let you win that one."

Charlotte goes to sit on a chaise lounge, tenting Kati underneath a receiving blanket as she feeds her.

"I gotta say, guys," Sam says, looking out over the hills past the backyard fence. "This place is amazing."

"Agreed," Pete calls out, his mouth full. "Although I have a feeling my wife is going to talk me into moving, now that she's seen it."

"Oh, absolutely," Violet grins, lifting her beer bottle. "And I'll want a baby, too. In like…10 years."

"I want one now," Addison says.

"I'm too selfish still," Violet waves the notion off. "I still want to be able to fly off to some random destination every year when I get my bonus check. And sleep in."

"I'm okay with that, too," Pete agrees. "Don't get me wrong. Kati's beautiful and amazing. But I'm not…there, yet."

Naomi and Sam locks eyes across their group of friends, but quickly look away from each other.

"Someday, we'll all have kids," Addison smiles sympathetically, squeezing her best friend's hand. "A whole baseball team."

"Nope," Amelia shakes her head. "Count me out. I'm perfectly content being Aunt Amelia."

"That makes you sound like you're 70 years old," Cooper replies, chuckling.

Amelia just shrugs, okay with the concept.

"Well I love kids," Sheldon smiles. He's the newest one to the group, and everyone is still kind of learning about him. "I want at least five."

"Me too," Cooper grins.

Charlotte raises an eyebrow at him from her seat, but he just wiggles his brow happily.

"Hey, have you guys met any neighbours yet?" Addison asks, wanting to deflect the conversation from a topic that is painful for Naomi.

"Not really," Cooper replies, back at the grill, flipping steaks. "The ones over there on the left must be on vacation. But the ones over there seem alright. Kids look to be in high school or something. I met the dad, but that's about it."

"Oo, you'll have to find some other mommys around here, so Kati has friends," Addison smiles happily.

Charlotte just raises an eyebrow.

"Or not," Addison shrugs, turning away from Charlotte and swigging her beer.

Everyone chuckles.

"Are you coming back to work, Mama Char?" Amelia asks, popping a tomato into her mouth.

"Not anytime soon," Charlotte replies, shifting Kati.

"Well that's a shocker," Amelia says under her breath.

"I heard that," Charlotte replies dryly.

"Well," Amelia replies, raising her palms. "I mean really."

"I may not have planned on stayin' home, but I'm definitely not leavin' my child to be raised by someone else," Charlotte says. "When I come back to work, you can be sure Kati will be comin' with me."

"No arguments here," Addison calls out.

"Agreed," Cooper lifts his spatula. "If we steep her in medicine, imagine the kind of doctor Kati will grow up and be."

"Maybe she'll want to be a veterinarian," Amelia shrugs. "Or a tennis player or a police officer."

"My daughter is obviously a genius," Cooper replies. "The field of medicine will call her. You just wait and see. Plus, she might also play at Carnegie Hall."

"You even gonna let her get hand-eye coordination down before you sit her on a piano bench?" Violet asks.

Cooper just grins and Charlotte rolls her eyes.

"You've already done it, haven't you? You've sat her at the piano," Violet shakes her head.

"Never too young to learn!" Cooper replies, again toasting the group with his spatula. "Now. Who wants medium-rare?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Be careful," Charlotte warns her husband as he picks up their baby. "She just ate."

"She's fine," Cooper grins, eyes only for his daughter. "She loves coming to see her daddy."

He lifts Kati up, staring up at her with big eyes, still amazed that he did this; he made this perfect baby.

"She's daddy's girl, isn't she?" he coos up to her.

Just then, a stream of breast milk spews from Kati's mouth. Before Cooper knows what's happening, some of it has already poured into his mouth.

"Eugh," he gags, holding Kati out to Charlotte so he can find a sink.

Cackling loudly, Charlotte takes the baby and settles her against her chest.

"I told you," Charlotte says, shaking her head as Cooper darts to the sink and spits, rinsing his mouth with water.

Charlotte laughs.

"Good one," she jiggles Kati on her hip. "Mama's girl all the way."

"Oh my god," Cooper groans, rinsing his mouth again. "That was by far the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted."

"Well baby vomit isn't exactly for eatin'," Charlotte replies.

"We do that all the time," he defends himself, gesturing himself holding Kati. "And she's never done that before."

"Well, I hardly think it was by choice," Charlotte rolls her eyes.

Pressing a napkin to his mouth, Cooper looks carefully at the baby and then reaches over and feels Kati's forehead.

"She's warm," he tells Charlotte.

The amused grin vanishes from Charlotte's face as she brings a hand up to the baby in her arms.

"I'm gettin' her into a cool bath," she says sharply, moving for the stairs.

"I'll bring you a towel and a fresh set of pyjamas," Cooper follows close behind.

"She's having her shots in two days," Charlotte says, worried but putting on a brave face.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Cooper replies calmly, meeting her in the bathroom.

Charlotte runs the water a little cool, knowing Kati will hate this. Kati and water have never been a good match. She's cried through every bath.

Charlotte peels the impossibly tiny socks from her daughter's feet before lifting her carefully.

"Oh god, she's gonna let us have it," Cooper murmurs, preparing for his daughter's lungs to unleash their fury.

As soon as the bottom half of her tiny body is submerged in the lukewarm water, Kati screams.

"I know, sugar," Charlotte soothes, feeling terrible. "I know. Mama's sorry. Let's just get you cooled down and then you can get back to what you do best."

"Being adorable?" Cooper says, running a hand over her head.

"Okay, the second thing you do best," Charlotte replies.

"Ah yes," Cooper smiles at Kati. "Eating."

While their daughter howls, Cooper and Charlotte make sure her entire body gets in the water before they finally take her out.

Her cries turn into worried little warbles as Charlotte lotions her skin, gets her in a diaper and buttons on a fresh pair of pyjamas.

"There we go," Charlotte says softly, cuddling Kati against her. "You're okay."

She rocks her lovingly and makes her way downstairs, Cooper at her heels with one of his medical textbooks and a thermometer.

As soon as milk is offered, Kati quiets down, her eyes getting sleepy as she drinks.

"Okay, she's not in a danger zone," Cooper announces, showing Charlotte the thermometer. "We'll just keep her dry and warm, but not too warm, and then her appointment is on Friday and everything will be fine."

Charlotte nods, fighting the worry she feels in her chest, as her baby eats. This is the first temperature issue they've had. Kati's been perfect in every way so far. She pushes the thought from her mind, telling herself that Kati is still perfect; fevers happen.

* * *

"Alright, let's see the little Freedman," Dr. Brewster enters the room.

Her bright smile puts all of her patients at ease. She and Cooper have known each other for about four years now. She hovers over Kati, looking at her.

"Oh thank god," she breathes, hand on her chest.

"What?" Cooper and Charlotte look at her, concerned.

"She doesn't look a thing like her father," Dr. Brewster continues.

As Cooper and Charlotte tilt their heads at her, Dr. Brewster chuckles.

"Hilarious, Emily," Cooper shakes his head. "I had no idea you were such a riot."

"Sure you did," she replies cheerfully. "I've gotten kids to laugh at you for what, four years now?"

Cooper just smiles.

"Alrighty," Emily looks through Kati's file. "First shots."

She makes a nervous face. "Well this is never a fun day."

"Tell me about it," Cooper rolls his eyes.

Charlotte sits, holding Kati, with her jaw clenched. Anyone who didn't know who would think she was just unimpressed or annoyed. The truth behind her clenched jaw and careful stare is fear. She's seen babies have their first shots, or any shots, and it's never a pretty sight. She's always been irritated by the cries of other people's babies, but now it's her baby who will be in pain, crying from the sting of the vaccines.

As Emily prepares the vaccinations, Charlotte holds onto Kati, keeping her calm. She's become a pro at this: Kati is constantly at ease when in her mother's arms. She's happy, smiley and alert.

"I guess we don't have to say what kind of reaction she's about to have," Emily offers apologetically.

She loves babies (hence being a paediatrician) so she can't stand to see them in pain.

Cooper pulls Kati's fat little leg out of her pyjamas. Unaware, Kati just smiles up at her mother. Charlotte smiles back, talking quietly to her as Emily gently takes Kati's leg and pushes the needle into her thigh.

Kati's large green-blue eyes go from happy to fearful as they fill with tears, and suddenly she squeezes them shut as she releases a loud howl.

Charlotte pulls her closer, her lips against her baby's forehead as she rocks her, whispering to her.

Even Cooper's surprised to find his own eyes tingle with tears, let alone his rock-hard wife's. He blinks them away as Charlotte flings one hand up to erase a tear before anyone sees it. She stands up, cradling her baby and calming her down.

Emily doesn't tease her friend, she simply claps him twice on the shoulder as she passes him to dispose of the needle.

"I'm the worst father on the planet," Cooper breathes, shaking his head.

"Come on," Emily tilts hers. "Every baby needs these shots."

"Not on their two-month birthday," Cooper replies dryly.

Emily presses her lips together, giving him a sympathetic smile, as he goes to catch up with his wife, who is already carrying Kati down the hallway.

* * *

"She does look less like me now," Cooper says in the car.

Charlotte glances at him, then the baby. "What are you talkin' about?"

"At first, she looked like me, kind of," he explains.

"At first, she didn't look like anybody," Charlotte counters.

"You know what I mean. All babies just look kind of wrinkly and everything. Kati was the most beautiful bunch of wrinkles I've ever seen, but I could still see me in her. Somehow. Now, I just see you. With dark hair and eyebrows."

Charlotte grins, looking back, seeing her daughter through the mirror poised above her car seat.

"She is a beautiful baby," she smiles.

"She is, without a doubt, the most beautiful baby on the planet. I'm surprised we haven't been approached by _Parents _magazine. Or GAP. Her face should be everywhere. I think she should be the spokesperson for babies everywhere," Cooper says, dead serious.

"I don't want my child on magazines," Charlotte disagrees.

"What?" Cooper stares. "Look at that face! Look at it! It's perfection."

"I know," Charlotte replies, looking at him. "Which is why she doesn't need to be splattered all over magazines. Next thing you know she's wanted for commercials, then some silly primetime TV show, and then she's in Hollywood and her entire life is ruined by that soul-sucking industry."

Cooper stops, taking all of this in.

"Oh my god," he mutters to himself.

Charlotte just raises an eyebrow and goes back to her phone, checking emails.

"We'll have to homeschool her," Cooper announces.

To this, Charlotte just chuckles to herself, letting him go on about the benefits of homeschooling.

* * *

"Oohhh how's my perfect little baby?" Addison coos, hurrying over to help Cooper lift Kati's carseat onto the kitchen table.

"Eight-week shots today," Cooper makes a face.

"Oh, no," Naomi frowns, coming to stand beside Addison.

"Did you cry?" Addison looks at Charlotte, as she starts to undo Kati's straps.

"No," Charlotte frowns, setting down the diaper bag.

Cooper, Addison, Amelia and Naomi all look at her.

"What? I didn't!" she retorts, going to the fridge.

The three women look at Cooper.

"Teared up, for sure," he whispers.

But Charlotte hears him, whacking him on the arm as she passes him again.

"She did okay, though?" Addison asks, more interested in Kati than in her parents' reaction to her vaccinations.

"Oh yeah," Cooper replies. "She's exactly like me, y'know. Put a boob in her mouth and she shuts right up."

He laughs at his own joke with Addison, Amelia and Naomi, while Charlotte shakes her head nearby, flipping through a medical magazine.

"So how are things around here?" Cooper asks.

"Same old," Addison shrugs. "Making babies, slicing scalps and fixing brains."

"Graphic," Cooper replies. "Any of my clients have an issues?"

"Nope," Addison replies, rocking Kati as she sleeps soundly. "They've all been directed to Dr. Brewster. I like her, by the way."

"Yeah, she's great," Cooper nods. "No one else I'd trust with Kati."

"Well your child's parents are both doctors," Amelia replies. "I think she's gonna do okay."

She smiles at Kati before going back to her lunch. Addison and Naomi continue to fawn over the baby, touching her silky hair and velvet cheeks.

"Those eyes," Naomi shakes her head. "Did you ever see such big eyes?"

"Any bigger and she'd look like an alien," Amelia replies.

She realizes right after that it comes out wrong.

"You know what I mean," she says quickly, meeting Charlotte's glare. "She's beautiful. She has beautiful eyes. They're just as big as they could possibly be without…"

She stops, clamps her mouth shut at Charlotte's raised brow and unimpressed face.

"Y'know what, never mind," she says. "It'll come out wrong. I know what I meant."

"So do we, Amy," Addison chuckles, coming to her aid. "Our Kati was just blessed with beautiful, enormous, ocean-eyes."

"Ugh, please don't call me that," Amelia replies.

"Oh, right," Addison nods, finally relinquishing Kati to Naomi's waiting arms. "I forgot. Just Amelia now. It'll take me some time."

"Yeah, well" Amelia sighs, waving it off, sipping her coffee. "Just don't expect me to respond to 'Amy' anymore."

"Noted," Addison nods.

Sam and Sheldon wander in, smiling and greeting Charlotte, Cooper and Kati.

"Where's Vi?" Cooper asks.

"She and Pete took the day off; drove down the coast," Sam replies.

"Must be nice," Addison replies, raising an eyebrow. "I've been up to my eyes in…well. Y'know. All morning."

"Gross," Amelia makes a face, as the men chuckle.

"The joys of being an OB/GYN," Addison smiles pleasantly.

"I'll stick with brains anyday," Amelia replies, lifting her coffee mug to the group.


	7. Chapter 7

"Really? I was hoping you would come," Addison frowns at Charlotte as she lays a sleeping Kati in the playpen she keeps in her office.

"Sorry," Charlotte replies, covering the baby with a blanket. "There's no one to watch Kati. And I'm not ready to leave her with someone anyway."

"Y'know, eventually you're gonna have to leave her with a sitter," Addison says, raising her brow.

"I know that," Charlotte replies quickly. "And we will. Just not right now. Besides, I'm still breastfeedin'. Last thing I need is to be sittin' at some fundraiser surrounded by a bunch of socialites in their best, while my boobs start leakin' like crazy."

Addison exhales. The fundraiser for DCFS tonight is something they've all gone to together for the last four years.

"Well is Cooper coming?"

"I think so," Charlotte replies. "He kept sayin' he was gonna stay home, but one of us should go. And he just happens to be the one not capable of feedin' our child."

"Is he still complaining about that?" Addison laughs, eating a blueberry as she lounges on the couch.

Charlotte rolls her eyes with a grin.

"He's one of a kind, my husband," she answers.

Someone knocks and then Sophie, the receptionist, pokes her head inside.

"Dr. King, your 3:00 is here."

"Thanks Sophie," Charlotte replies, not looking at her.

She walks over to her desk and picks up the patient file.

"Well if you've got a patient, I'm stealing Kati," Addison stands up.

Charlotte starts to protest; Kati just fell asleep.

"Oh go on," she agrees, as Addison stalls. "She sleeps like a log anyway."

Addison grins and goes to the playpen and carefully picks up the baby.

The door opens again as Sophie shows Charlotte's patient in, and Addison slips past them, happily cradling Kati.

"You're not back in half an hour, and I'll come lookin' for ya," Charlotte calls to Addison.

Addison dismisses her with a wave and heads over to the kitchen.

Naomi looks up happily, a huge smile on her face, her mouth starting to open to talk. But Addison holds a finger up to her mouth.

"If she wakes up, Charlotte will never let me babysit again," Addison says quietly.

"This is babysitting?" Naomi raises an eyebrow.

"It's as close as I'll get, until she's a teenager," Addison rolls her eyes.

"Oh, she's a new mommy," Naomi replies. "She'll loosen the reins eventually."

"We'll see," Addison replies dryly.

They stand side by side, smiling down at the baby.

"Look at those eyelashes," Addison murmurs.

"I know," Naomi replies. "I'm jealous of a three-month old."

Addison glances up at her friend.

"How are you guys doing?" she asks carefully, referring to Sam and Naomi.

Naomi just exhales.

"I don't know," she finally answers, gazing at Kati with longing. "Somedays it's great, somedays it's terrible. It's anything but stable."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Addison says softly.

Naomi just shakes her head.

"Sometimes I don't think I'll ever get a baby," she confesses.

"I know the feeling," Addison replies knowingly.

They're quiet, watching Kati and listening to her soft breaths.

"Maybe we can just steal this one," Addison says quietly; conspiratorially.

Naomi grins. "You willing to deal with Charlotte when she's breathing fire? Forget Mama Bear. That woman is a Mama Dragon."

"You're right," Addison sighs. "I feel sorry for whoever crosses that line."

They chuckle quietly.

"So have you talked to Derek at all?" Naomi asks.

Addison shakes her head. "No. It's been a year, now, since the divorce was finalized. I'm pretty sure he still hates me."

Naomi gives her a sympathetic look.

"I thought you said you had a decent talk? And he gave you the brownstone."

"Yeah," Addison shrugs. "And we did talk. He agreed that he'd been distant and everything for months leading up to the…Mark. But then the last time we talked, after I sold the brownstone, he was just…"

She makes a face.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Naomi says gently. "You're both still healing, y'know?"

"I guess," Addison shrugs. "I think things are pretty serious with the little blonde."

"Little," Naomi chuckles. "She's the same age as we are, Addison."

"Whatever," Addison rolls her eyes. "When I was there for that TTTS case before the divorce, they seemed pretty in love with each other."

"And soon you'll have that, too," Naomi rubs Addison's back.

She smiles gratefully.

"At least Amy doesn't hate me anymore," Addison adds. "Sorry. _Amelia._"

"What about the other three?"

Addison makes a face.

"Nancy will always be a bitch," she shrugs. Before she can say anything else, the door opens and Amelia herself walks in.

"Hey guys," she smiles. "How's the babe?"

"Perfect," they respond simultaneously.

Amelia shakes her head good-naturedly, going to the fridge. "I will never understand that baby fever."

"Yes you will," Naomi replies with a smile.

"No," Addison says. "She really won't. She's the only Shepherd without the baby gene."

Amelia just grins.

"Charlotte actually let you take her out of her sight?" she raises her eyebrows at Kati, taking a drink of water.

Addison raises her eyebrows quickly; a look of understanding.

"Shocking, right?" she says.

"Just a little," Amelia replies sarcastically.

Cooper arrives, smiling.

"Where is my beautiful daughter?" he says.

"Wow," Addison says dryly. "I got her for a total of 23 minutes."

She helps Cooper take his sleeping daughter from her arms.

"Sorry," Cooper replies. "The Andersons are here for Jessa's appointment and I really want them to meet her."

"Well bring her back if Charlotte's not done with her patient afterwards!" she calls out to Cooper as he leaves the kitchen.

Addison sighs and Naomi goes to the fridge to get something to eat.

"Actually, do you guys wanna go grab lunch?" Amelia says, before Naomi can open the fridge. "I was thinking that Japanese place near the pier."

"Yeah, let's do that," Addison perks up.

Naomi shrugs in agreement, and the three of them head for the door.

Charlotte's patient leaves her office as Charlotte holds the door open, and Addison meets her eyes.

They widen as she sees Addison's empty arms.

"She's with Cooper," she tells her, her hands up.

Relief smoothes Charlotte's face.

"You wanna come for sushi?" Amelia asks.

Charlotte hesitates.

"He's showing her off to his patient's parents," Naomi says. "So he's guaranteed to be busy for a couple hours."

Charlotte tilts her head, giving Naomi a look.

"Sushi sounds great," she replies. "Just let me grab my jacket."

* * *

"I'm starting to think urology was a bad choice," Charlotte sighs, as Naomi pours green tea into their cups. "I'm working two days a week, and the only thing I've diagnosed in two weeks are bladder infections."

"Ugh," Amelia makes a face.

"Was it so bad staying home?" Addison asks.

"Kati is a wonderful baby," Charlotte replies. "But she still sleeps so much. I hate sittin' around."

"Aren't you tired?" Amelia frowns. "Isn't she feeding, like, every four hours?"

"Five," Charlotte corrects. "And I'm doin' just fine for sleep."

"You're inhuman," Addison shakes her head.

The server comes and Amelia orders enough sushi for all of them.

"Hungry?" Naomi laughs.

"Starving," Amelia replies. "I haven't gone grocery shopping. I've been living off of toast and coffee beans."

"You must be bouncin' off the walls," Charlotte replies, mixing soya sauce and wasabi.

Amelia just shrugs, sipping her tea.

"Hey, have you heard back about the hospital job?" Addison asks Charlotte.

"Another meetin' in two weeks," she replies.

"Chief of staff," Naomi shakes her head. "Anything you can't do, girl?"

"Well I wouldn't start until Kati's okay being left with a nanny or something," she responds. "And it wouldn't be often. I don't want my child bein' raised by a stranger."

"There are some really great nannies, if you go through an agency," Addison replies gently. "I wouldn't want to leave my baby with someone else every day, but when the day comes, an occasional day with a nanny is okay."

"Two, max," Charlotte replies. "Cooper and I will have to coordinate our schedules."

The other three grin behind their tea cups.

"What?" Charlotte frowns, staring at them.

"Nothing," Addison smiles, shaking her head. "It's just a very different side of you that we never saw before Kati."

"It's kind of like watching a dragon smile," Amelia grins.

Charlotte doesn't even try to act offended. She just shrugs, accepting this.

"For the record, it's a side of you that I've come to love," Addison touches Charlotte's arm.

"It can't last forever, though," Amelia adds. "Soon, you'll snap. I just hope I'm there to witness it. And that it's not directed at me."

They laugh, and their sushi arrives; plates being placed around the table.

"Oh god, I'm so hungry I could eat Kati," Amelia says.

Charlotte slaps her playfully, hiding a small grin.

"Remind me to never leave you alone with her," she replies.

* * *

"No," Amelia frowns, as they take the elevator back up to the practice. "You have to come."

"Sorry," Charlotte replies with a shrug. "Can't do it. It's only been four hours and already my boobs are rock hard and hurt like hell."

"That's disgusting," Amelia replies straight-faced.

The door opens and she heads off to her office.

Addison and Naomi head off to their respective offices, and Charlotte starts for Cooper's.

"Oh, Dr. King," Sophie calls. "Dr. Freedman left."

"Left where?" Charlotte demands.

Her tiredness makes her easily annoyed, and unfortunately Sophie seems to annoy her often.

"The hospital."

Charlotte's eyes bore into hers. "With Kati?"

Sophie just nods silently. Dr. King terrifies her.

"Why?"

"He said it was an emergency," Sophie mumbles.

Her heart racing, Charlotte spins on her heel and races to the elevator, a heavy wave of nausea nearly knocking her over.


	8. Chapter 8

Charlotte bursts through the doors of the hospital, hurrying to the nearest nurse's station.

"Katelyn Freedman," she snaps at the woman sitting behind the counter.

Recognizing Charlotte, the nurse frowns in confusion and then types _Freedman_ into the computer.

"Nothing," she replies.

Charlotte can't tell if this is good or bad; her stomach just continues to churn as her heart races.

She runs to an elevator, hitting the button harshly.

"For Christ's sake," she mutters under her breath, but the door opens quickly and she hurries inside.

Several people move as she pushes her way through and slams the button for the paediatric floor. She ignores their offended glances as she knocks into a couple of people.

When the doors open she steps out, her heels clacking angrily against the tile. Her eyes dart everywhere, and she starts down the hallway looking into every room.

"Charlotte?" she hears her husband's voice.

She spins around to find him standing there with a chart, Kati strapped to his chest with her head resting against him.

"Jesus Christ, Cooper," she breathes, reaching them in several long strides. "What the hell's going on?"

Cooper frowns, confused. "I got called in," he replies. "Ava Goldman broke her collarbone. Through the skin."

Finally, Charlotte's heart returns to its regular pace and her stomach settles.

"What's wrong?" Cooper asks, concerned.

"Well I get back to the practice and the only thing that sorry excuse for a medical receptionist can say is that you went to the hospital with Kati, and it was an emergency!" she responds, her fear causing her tone to get snappy.

As she talks, she reaches over and unstraps her daughter.

"Honey, she's fine," Cooper says calmly, moving his arms so she can take Kati.

"Well I didn't know that 10 minutes ago," Charlotte replies, cradling the baby and searching every centimetre of her face, just in case.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Cooper says, his forehead creased with regret. "I didn't mean to scare you. It was an emergency and I just grabbed Kati and left."

Charlotte's own forehead stays creased as she stares at Kati, running a hand through her silky curls.

"Hey," Cooper says, taking Charlotte's cheek in his palm.

"I'm fine," she replies, giving him a small smile.

It's the first time she's felt this feeling. Sharp, drowning, thick fear. Not knowing if her baby was okay. The residue of it has left her feeling anxious and tired all at once. Her hormones are still kind of wacky somedays, and right now all she wants to do is go home and cry by herself. Something that is completely out of character for her. The crying bit, at least. Crying alone is normal for her; she doesn't let people see her cry, if she can help it.

"I'm gonna take her home," she says quietly, only glancing at Cooper.

"You okay?" he asks.

She just nods, and he knows she's freaked out.

"She's okay," he repeats. "I'm sorry I scared you."

She nods again and then turns and leaves, clutching Kati to her chest.

* * *

As soon as she has Kati strapped into her car seat and she gets into the driver's seat, Charlotte exhales deeply and lets several tears flood her eyes. This feeling is the worst thing she's felt. Probably ever.

She gives herself only a few moments to breathe before she starts the car and drives home.

Right on time, Kati starts to fuss when they're almost home. Charlotte gets inside quickly and settles into the couch with her daughter. As she feeds her, feeling the spreading wave of relief as the physical pressure dissipates and her emotional rush subsides, she watches her baby.

"A year ago I never could have imagined myself sittin' here with a baby," she murmurs as she runs her hand over Kati's head. "Now I'm sure I couldn't handle somethin' ever happenin' to you."

Her eyes start to tingle and she blinks quickly, frustrated with her own psychotic hormones.

"You're gonna make a complete mess of your mama, aren't you?" she smiles at Kati.

She feels the familiar weight of exhaustion. She hates being tired all the time, but she wouldn't trade Kati for anything. Despite the routine feedings and diaper changes and lack of sleep, she is completely in love with her daughter.

As Kati finishes eating, falling asleep while she drinks, Charlotte carries her upstairs, eager to get out of her work clothes. She pulls on one of Cooper's t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants and crawls into bed, holding Kati close to her as the baby's peaceful sleep acts like a tonic, putting Charlotte to sleep, too.

* * *

"Hey," Cooper whispers, looking over as his wife begins to open her eyes. He smiles, and is relieved to see a small smile offered back.

"Hey," Charlotte replies, her voice a little hoarse with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 6:00," Cooper replies. "How long has she been out?"

Charlotte looks down to see Kati, still fast asleep, one fat fist pressed against her cheek.

"I fed her around 1:00," she answers.

"Wow," Cooper says, impressed. "You two must have been exhausted."

"Yeah," Charlotte replies, not moving to sit up for fear of waking Kati.

Cooper pulls off his tie and climbs onto the bed, lying down to face his wife and daughter.

"How're you doing?" he asks quietly, squeezing Charlotte's hand.

"I'm alright," she replies honestly.

If anyone else asked, she would have dismissed them immediately. But it's Cooper; the only person she talks to.

"I've never been so scared in my life," she admits.

"I wasn't thinking," he tells her. "I should have called, or told Sam or something. And I definitely shouldn't have left any information with Sophie."

Charlotte rolls her eyes in agreement.

They're quiet, watching Kati sleep.

"I never thought I'd love anything this much," she says softly; almost inaudibly. She glances at Cooper, only for a second.

"I know," he agrees with a smile. "Sometimes I still can't believe it. That she's ours, and that she's so…perfect."

Charlotte smiles, and Kati slowly begins to stir, moving her little arms to stretch.

Both parents smile down at her as she gradually opens her eyes, exposing the aqua-green of her eyes, with their dark blue outline. Contentedly, she blinks, looking up to see her parents and smiling sleepily.

"She is literally the only baby I've ever known who doesn't cry as soon as she wakes up," Cooper shakes his head.

"She's a happy girl," Charlotte murmurs.

"God, she's amazing," Cooper breathes.

Kati begins to fully wake up, giving a big yawn and rubbing at her face.

"Are you hungry?" Cooper asks Charlotte.

As if in response, Kati gurgles. They laugh.

"Looks like we both are," Charlotte answers.

Cooper leans over and kisses his wife, before getting off the bed and then leaning down to pick up Kati.

"Why don't you go shower," he says to his wife. "Kati and I will handle the rest."

She smiles gratefully and Cooper takes Kati to her room to change her diaper.

Downstairs, he warms up a bottle of breast milk as he calls their favourite Thai place and orders dinner.

After dinner, as they all sit on the couch watching TV, the phone rings. Charlotte balks at answering, seeing the number on the call display. She gives Cooper an annoyed look. He checks the display and chuckles.

"Better answer it," he says. "Otherwise she'll just call back nine more times."

Charlotte exhales and answers her mother's phone call.

"Hi Mama," she says.

"Well don't sound so damn pleased," comes Evaline's reply.

"I'm tired," Charlotte replies.

"Well I would expect so," Evaline replies. "I told you bein' a mama was hard. If you weren't tired, I'd say you were doin' it wrong."

Charlotte just lets her breath out.

"Anyway, I'm callin' about the reunion," Evaline goes on. "I expect y'all will be stayin' here at the house."

_Dammit, _Charlotte thinks. She had almost forgotten about the King family reunion happening next month out at her parents' place in Alabama.

"A hotel will be fine, Mama," Charlotte replies.

"Absolutely not," Evaline retorts, indignant. "I won't have my grandchild stayin' in some cold, foreign hotel. She deserves to be in a crib, at home, with her family."

"You bought a crib?" Charlotte replies, monotone.

"Well of course!" Evaline answers. "Where else would she sleep?"

"With us," Charlotte says easily.

"No," Evaline replies. "I've got her crib all set up. In your old room, might I add. Lord knows it's impossible to please you, but I figured you'd refuse anything but."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. _Right, _she thinks. I'm _the one who's impossible to please._

She yawns, exhausted.

"That boring, am I?" Evaline says into the phone.

Charlotte just rolls her eyes at Cooper, shaking her head.

"Well, I suppose I'll let you go then. And we'll be seeing you June 15th."

"Alright, Mama," Charlotte answers. "We'll see you then."

After she hangs up, she drops the phone and drops her head back against the couch.

"Forgot?" Cooper says.

"Tried to," Charlotte replies.

"It won't be so bad," Cooper says, trying to cheer her up. When she looks at him, raising her brow, he just laughs.

"Well I always have fun, watching you get drunk off bourbon and listening to your accent get thicker and thicker," he teases.

She shoves him playfully. "You've been out there _once_," she reminds him.

"That's all it took," Cooper shrugs. "That memory's stuck in my mind forever."

He laughs when she shakes her head.

"Besides, your dad hasn't even met Kati yet. Neither have Duke or Landry," Cooper says. "Pardon me, _Big Daddy_ hasn't met her yet."

Charlotte nods. That's true. Since her mother's impromptu visit when Kati was born in February, Charlotte hasn't seen or really talked to her family at all. And she doesn't mind it that way. She only agreed to the King family reunion because she'd never hear the end of it if she didn't. Her father's side of the family aren't that bad, anyway, compared to her mother's. His two sisters aren't nearly as hard and gruff as their brother, but Big Daddy and his three brothers are all like their father: unemotional and a little cold. John King may have been nicer to Charlotte than to her brothers while they were growing up, but he's never been a warm man. After his mother, Charlotte's grandmother, died four years ago, he became even more detached, more content to convey his thoughts with a steely gaze.

"Alright then," Charlotte concedes. "We'll go."

Cooper rubs her back comfortingly.

"But don't say I didn't warn you," she adds. "Kings aren't exactly humble and they definitely aren't worried about hurtin' anyone's feelin's with their opinions. The whole lot of of 'em are so rich they buy a new boat when the other one gets wet, and they've got their noses so high, they could drown in a rainstorm."

Cooper laughs.

"We haven't even gotten there yet and your Southern blood is already boiling," he chuckles. "I can't wait to see you right in the middle of all of them."


	9. Chapter 9

As Cooper drives their rental car up the long, tree-lined, King driveway, the enormous white house comes into view. Charlotte exhales. Cooper squeezes her hand comfortingly.

"It won't be that bad," he promises. "Everyone will be so busy with Kati, they won't have time to scold you for moving to California."

"Maybe," Charlotte says. "But Lord knows Mama is gonna have somethin' to say about the way I mother my child."

"You are an amazing mother," Cooper responds firmly.

"I know," Charlotte replies, as though this is obvious. "But she'll have somethin' to say, regardless. And if she even starts to go there, I'll put her in her place. She can run up and down me all day, if she wants to, but she better leave my baby and my parentin' out of it."

Several expensive cars are parked in front of the house, and the enormous wrap-around porch holds a bunch of people, milling around and talking.

"Okay, one more time," Cooper says, driving little slower.

"Wilder's the oldest," Charlotte says again, now able to point these people out to Cooper, who's never met her extended family. "He's married to Daisy there. Then Jett comes after Big Daddy, and he's married to Joanie. Scarlett there is married to Grant, then Beau, he's married to Savannah, and Shelby's the youngest. She's married to Harley. And there's a whole slew of cousins, and I'm not namin' all of 'em. You'll meet them."

"Okay," Cooper nods, hoping he'll remember. "And Duke just got married."

"Duke just got married to Emma. Landry's wife is Celia."

Cooper nods, pulling up and parking beside a shiny Cadillac.

"I'm suddenly glad I'm an only child," he mumbles.

"Oh God," Charlotte groans, looking away from the house. "Mama's dressed up like this is the Derby or somethin'."

Cooper just grins, undoing his seatbelt.

Evaline King watches as Cooper and Charlotte get out of the car.

"Charlotte's always the last to arrive," Charlotte hears her mother say to one of her aunts.

She clenches her jaw, opening the door to the backseat.

"Oh, you've just got to see my grand baby," Evaline says loudly.

Several people look over, smiling as Charlotte takes Kati from the car.

Sighing, reminding herself to be patient and as relaxed as possible, Charlotte settles Kati against her and walks towards the porch as Cooper rests a supportive hand on her back.

Several house- and grounds-keepers go to take the bags from Charlotte and Cooper's car, and Charlotte smiles genuinely, seeing Maggie wave from the porch.

Maggie has been a housekeeper since Charlotte was 12 years old. Despite having Evaline as a boss, with her constant orders and nitpicking, Maggie has always been happy, smiling, and sweet to Charlotte and her brothers.

They reach the porch and Evaline reaches out for Kati.

"Oh go on and let me have her," she insists.

Reluctantly, Charlotte releases her baby. Evaline takes the baby over to the small crowd, loudly fawning over Kati.

Charlotte distracts herself by accepting the hugs from her father's two sisters.

She introduces Cooper, who of course charms the two women, and then Maggie appears at her side.

Charlotte hugs her tightly.

"Look at you," she smiles. "Already back to your tiny little self."

"Oh, come on now," Charlotte replies. "You haven't changed one bit."

Maggie just grins. "And look at her," she looks over towards Kati, being shown off.

Charlotte smiles, swelling with pride.

"Congratulations, darlin'," Maggie squeezes her.

"Thank you," Charlotte replies, and then Maggie is off, tending to everyone again before Evaline can bark another order.

They move towards the group and Charlotte politely greets her uncles and their wives. Only Daisy and Savannah are affectionate, offering hugs. Big Daddy gives Charlotte a nod and a deep, solemn hello, and Charlotte wouldn't expect anything more.

She tries to keep a hold on Cooper, not wanting to leave him to fend for himself in this group, but her brother's wives pull her away. Celia and Emma are like Cooper; they both come from warm, loving families, so they stick out like sore thumbs among Charlotte's conservative relatives. Charlotte herself has never been affectionate with her family, but she does like her sisters-in-law, and she stands for a few minutes, answering their questions.

Her arms itch for her baby and she glances back to see Kati, sitting in her grandmother's arms, beginning to squirm.

"Excuse me," she says to Celia and Emma, and heads for her mother.

"She's hungry," Evaline announces as Charlotte appears, reaching for her baby.

Kati just ate, and Charlotte knows her discomfort is simply from being in the arms of someone she's not familiar with.

But she takes the out and carries Kati inside anyway.

"Oh, let me get my hands on that baby," Maggie says, coming over from across the atrium as Charlotte closes the front door. "I was wonderin' when you'd be able to escape the fire."

Charlotte rolls her eyes, agreeing, as she lets Maggie take Kati. She's not really surprised to see that Kati doesn't cry with Maggie. Maggie's presence is warm and calming.

"Oh, Miss Charlotte, she is beautiful," she says, looking at Charlotte proudly.

"She is," Charlotte nods.

The two of them walk to the back of the house, slipping out the back door. Thankfully, everyone is out front and back here it's more quiet and peaceful.

There's a pool and some tennis courts farther back, so they sit on some lounge chairs by the pool.

"So," Maggie smiles, fascinated with Kati. "How do you like bein' a Mama? I can tell by the look on your face that you're just smitten with her."

"I love it," Charlotte smiles. "I'm exhausted and still feel huge, but she's such a wonderful baby."

"And you were worried about bein' a terrible mother. You swore up and down that you'd never have a baby," Maggie teases.

"Well I didn't think I ever would," Charlotte replies, relaxing in the comfort of Maggie.

"Oh this one will make a mush out of you, Miss Charlotte," she says, winking at her.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Charlotte says, reaching out to let Kati wrap her fat fingers around her thumb.

The back door opens and Charlotte's aunts Daisy and Savannah give them huge smiles, coming over to them.

"I figured you needed a breather," Daisy smiles, her silvery hair glistening in the sunlight. "Evaline will always be Evaline."

The four women grin; their little private joke.

"Well, look at you," Savannah bends down to look at Kati.

"I better get back inside," Maggie excuses herself politely.

She hands Kati back to Charlotte, giving her a wink before leaving.

"Oh, honey, I just knew any baby of yours would be a stunner," Daisy says, her thick accent having a comforting affect on Charlotte. "May I?"

Daisy and Savannah are most likely the only relatives who will actually ask Charlotte for permission to snatch her baby away. Grateful for these two "normal" aunts, Charlotte lets Daisy take Kati.

"Miss Katelyn," Daisy says softly, sitting down across from Charlotte where Maggie just was. "Would you look at those eyes."

Savannah sits down beside Daisy, and they smile at Kati, talking to her.

"And I assume she's just perfect and let's y'all sleep through the night?" Savannah says.

"She's wonderful," Charlotte replies with a grin. "Sleeps a good five or six hours a night."

"Wow," Savannah says, impressed. "My Susannah was colic. I remember I didn't sleep for months. I was like a zombie."

"Ellie wasn't colic, but Lord have mercy, she would scream," Daisy shakes her head. "Hard to believe my firstborn is coming on 40 years old."

The three women sit, catching up, as Kati is passed between the two until she starts to fuss.

"Mama's girl," Daisy winks at Charlotte, as Kati settles into her arms and begins to slowly close her eyes.

Charlotte grins proudly.

"Charlotte!" comes Evaline's voice through the house. "Charlotte!"

She opens the back door and sees them.

"Well what are y'all doin' out here?" she frowns. "Everyone is waitin' out front to meet Kati."

"Oh the little one needs a nap, Evaline," Daisy waves a hand dismissively, getting up to go inside.

Savannah gives Charlotte an encouraging smile and follows Daisy.

"Come on, now," Daisy gently presses a hand to Evaline's back, coaxing her back into the house. "Let's give mama and baby a moment to rest."

"Thank the Lord for your great-aunties, baby," Charlotte murmurs to Kati, who's now dozing in Charlotte's arms.

Charlotte takes the opportunity to rest for a few minutes. It wasn't a really long plane ride, but flying exhausts her anyway. As Kati sleeps against her chest, Charlotte reclines in a chaise and stares up at the same sky she grew up with. Wide, blue and nearly cloudless. But just like when she was 12, she doesn't feel at ease here. Her childhood home is not a warm and comforting place to be. Warm and comforting came when she left home, and it really settled in when she and Cooper moved in together. Now, with Kati, it's perfect. Being here just reminds her of ridiculous dinners and dresses she hated to wear and her mother constantly picking at her. _Sit up straight, Charlotte, _she hears her mother's voice in her head. _Hold your tea cup like this, Charlotte. Be a lady, Charlotte._

She scowls at the memory. This reunion is going to wipe her right out. Tomorrow, Saturday, is the actual reunion, and they're flying out on Sunday night. She just knows her mother is going to have something to say about this, but Charlotte refuses to be here any longer than she has to.

She hears her mother, from inside the house, calling to Maggie to find her. With a sigh, she slowly stands up, careful not to wake Kati.

"Better get this over and done with," she mumbles to herself.

She goes inside and shares a look with Maggie before going up the long spiral staircase to her old room. She spots the new crib over by the window and walks over to lay Kati down. Cooper must have made sure Kati's diaper bag was ready and waiting. She takes out the baby monitor and plugs it in, grabbing the portable to take with her. She closes the curtains and pauses by the crib again to look down at Kati, sound asleep. She smiles at her baby, runs a hand over her hair and then leaves to join the rest of the family, and rescue Cooper from whatever hell he's being forced into.


	10. Chapter 10

Charlotte grits her teeth, glaring at her mother's back as she walks away.

"Oh, don't let her get to you, sugar," Savannah pats Charlotte's knee. "You know your mama. She could start an argument in an empty house. Best just ignore it and carry on. You're doin' a fine job with that baby."

Charlotte attempts a grateful smile for her aunt, but it comes out as more of a grimace.

"She's gettin' on my last nerve," she says.

Savannah just raises her eyebrows in agreement.

This is the third time her mother has come and criticized her way of doing things. First Kati's bathwater was too warm, then Charlotte didn't use enough powder on her, and now she's apparently not feeding Kati enough.

At least this time Cooper was there to hear it, and assured Evaline as politely as he could that Kati was, in fact, perfectly healthy and her weight was ideal for a four-month-old. And he suggested Evaline show him the family library again, just to get her away from Charlotte.

He turns back and looks at his wife, giving her a wink as he ascends the staircase. She smiles, so glad he's here.

"Don't think another minute on it," Savannah says, as Charlotte lifts Kati up to burp her. "One look at that baby and it's clear as day that she's nothin' but perfect."

"She's gonna be a heartbreaker," Charlotte grins. "If she ever gets the opportunity to date."

"Ha," Savannah scoffs. "Between the two of you, I doubt it."

The official "reunion" began this morning. Charlotte was awake with Kati at 6:00, and Evaline was already up and ordering the housekeepers around. Tables of food are set out, chairs are everywhere, and there are family photos all over the place. The day is hot, but it's typical for Alabaman summers, so everyone is content to sit outside, fanning themselves. Kati's been passed around to almost everyone who has wanted to hold her, and Charlotte's glad to have her back in her own arms, now falling asleep, full and happy.

It's not as bad as Charlotte thought it would be. Sure, she has to make polite conversation with family she barely knows, but she also gets to see her cousins. Mabry, Jett's daughter, is a year older than her, and they used to spend a lot of time together when they were growing up, since Jett's ranch is only a couple miles away. Mabry's married now with two little girls of her own, who have spent most of their time in the pool with the other younger family members.

"You're already back to your normal size," Mabry shakes her head, sipping lemonade. "Took me 'bout a year to lose my weight from Julianna."

"I am not," Charlotte frowns, waving off the comment. "I still don't fit into some of my pants."

Mabry just rolls her eyes. "You've got nothin' to worry about, I'm tellin' you."

They look over as a scream erupts from the pool area, and watch as one of Wilder's grandsons dives into the pool, splashing Mabry's other daughter, Ashley.

"Where'd my husband get to?" Mabry glances around.

"I think he went out front," Charlotte replies. "Probably with Big Daddy to the stables. He's got some new Arabians to show off."

She gets up from her seat.

"I'm gonna go lay her down," she tells Mabry.

"Oh, I'll come with you. Then we can go have a look at those horses."

Charlotte smiles at her aunts sitting nearby and excuses herself.

"Can you believe Scarlett?" Mabry whispers as they walk up the stairs. "Scowlin' at all of the kids like they're diseased or somethin',"

"It's Scarlett," Charlotte replies quietly. "What else would you expect?"

Mabry shakes her head.

"I never did understand Daddy's side of the family," she goes on. "I don't think either one of us has ever heard an 'I love you' from our daddies."

"Just the way it is," Charlotte replies.

She learned to deal with this fact years ago. It doesn't bother her anymore.

"Not one member of the King family is very pleasant," Mabry adds. "Daisy and Savannah are sweet as pie, and they both married surly King men. I'll never understand it."

"Well I'm not surprised that neither Shelby nor Scarlett held Kati," Charlotte says, entering the bedroom.

"Has Big Daddy even held her?"

"No," Charlotte replies, lying Kati in the crib. "But lo and behold, I saw a smile try to wiggle it's way out of his lips when he saw her."

"No," Mabry stares at her.

Charlotte nods. "Pretty shocked myself," she answers. "But he just might soften up a bit for his granddaughter."

"She does have that affect on people," Mabry smiles, as Charlotte covers Kati up and picks up the portable baby monitor.

They leave the room and head for the stairs again, passing the library.

"Well most of these are just for decoration," they hear Evaline say.

They glance in and see Cooper, nodding at Evaline, whom they can't see from the doorway. Cooper just grins, a look of slight exhaustion.

They stifle laughter and go downstairs.

"How many horses are your parents raisin' these days?" Mabry asks, as they walk towards the stables.

"Nine, last time I checked," Charlotte replies. "Dorothy just gave birth. Daddy named her Dixie. And Belle is pregnant now, too, so that'll make 10."

"You watch," Mabry glances at Charlotte with a grin. "Your daddy's gonna buy your girl a horse as soon as she's able to ride it."

Charlotte gives a breathy laugh.

That was probably true. Big Daddy bought her her first horse when she was six. Her name was Georgia and she died only a couple years ago. Charlotte had been heartbroken. A few years before that her favourite cow, Marjorie, had died, too.

They reach the barn and sure enough Big Daddy is showing off his two new horses to a small group of men. Wilder, Jett, Mabry's husband Brody, Scarlett's husband Grant, and several cousins Charlotte doesn't know very well are standing around the two stalls as Big Daddy brags about pedigree.

Charlotte meets her father's eye but he goes on talking, and she and Mabry step over to Belle's stall. She's not very far along yet, so she's comfortable, munching on oats as she looks over at them with fluid, chocolate-coloured eyes.

She runs her hand over Belle's velvety soft nose.

"Didn't you just get your girls some horses?" she asks.

"Mmhmm," Mabry hums, petting Belle's other side. "Beautiful Quarter Horses. Gonna be great for horse shows."

They wander over and have a look at the two new Arabians. Big Daddy will only buy the best horses, so most of his are Arabians, while Belle and Hiccup are Quarter Horses. Hiccup is his pride and joy, winning races all the time. That's why he got his name; he's quicker than a hiccup.

"Miss Mabry," Jorge, one of the groundskeepers, calls from the stable doors. "Please come."

He looks concerned, and Charlotte and Mabry hurry to follow him. They hear crying as they get nearer the house and Charlotte listens but then doesn't bother checking the baby monitor. That's not Kati's cry.

They hurry around the outside of the house to the backyard, where a small crowd stands.

"Julianna?" Mabry calls, scared.

She pushes through the crowd of family members and finds her youngest daughter, Julianna, cradled in Daisy's arms.

"I think she broke it," Daisy says, her forehead creased as she looks to Charlotte for answers.

Charlotte steps forward after Mabry and sees the little girl's wrist, clearly broken.

She moves in, pushing aside people and kneeling beside Mabry.

"Yeah, it's broken," Charlotte supplies, as Mabry reaches to take her daughter. She cries out when she starts to move.

"Careful, Mabry," Charlotte says. "Don't move it around. Someone go get me a hardcover book."

No one moves.

"Now!" Charlotte orders loudly, and Shelby's husband, Harley, jumps, hurrying inside.

"Shelby, Mama's first aid kit. Should be in the kitchen. Ask Maggie," she says firmly.

Shelby looks put-out at taking the order, but moves for the door anyway.

As Mabry soothes her crying daughter and Charlotte makes sure she doesn't move too much, the family begins to move back and sit down. Shelby and Harley arrive at the same time, bearing the supplies Charlotte asked for.

"This is gonna hurt a little, alright?" she says gently to Julianna.

She moves the book underneath her and the little girls cries loudly.

"I'm sorry," Charlotte says, taking some gauze and gently wrapping it around the book and Julianna's arm.

Brody runs into the backyard then, followed by Ashley, and hurries over to his wife and daughter.

"What happened? Ashley said-" he begins, but sees Julianna.

"I'll start the car," he says, and jogs back out front.

"She'll be fine," Charlotte assures Mabry, as she worriedly clutches her daughter. "Get her to the hospital and they'll get a cast on her. I don't think it's a bad break."

Mabry nods and lifts up Julianna. Charlotte stands up too and sees Cooper and Evaline come out the backdoor.

"What's happened?" Evaline asks, looking around.

"Julianna broke her wrist," Charlotte replies, walking over to her husband.

"Well is she alright?" Evaline asks, wide-eyed.

"She'll be fine," Charlotte replies, as Cooper's arm slides around her. "I'm goin' in to check on Kati."

"Oh she's sleepin'," Evaline responds.

Charlotte holds back an eye roll and just continues going inside.

_Twenty-four more hours, _she tells herself, sighing.

* * *

Cooper says he's going to go get a drink, so Charlotte heads upstairs alone. As she gets closer to the bedroom she inhales sharply as she sees someone standing over Kati's crib. But her chest relaxes again when she gets closer, and instead she's completely surprised. Standing above her daughter, watching her sleep, is Big Daddy. Slowly, Charlotte walks into the room.

"Daddy," she says quietly.

John King looks up, a little surprised.

"Charlotte," he replies in his deep voice.

She steps up to the other side of the crib and looks down at Kati, who is still fast asleep.

It's quiet, and she glances up. Big Daddy is just watching Kati. He doesn't have his usual gruff frown, but he's not smiling either. He just looks content.

In silence, he looks up and meets Charlotte's eyes. They look at each other for a moment and then he gives her a nod, a proud look in his eyes, before he walks out of the room. Charlotte watches his back as he leaves. She's surprised at herself to feel her eyes tingle, but she doesn't cry. Her father may have been softer with her than with her brothers, but they've never been very close. She knows he loves her, in his own way, and she doesn't expect him to be any other way. But the look he gave her was new. He looked so…pleased.

She smiles, watching her daughter sleep.

* * *

"Surely you can stay another few days," Evaline scolds. "I've barely spent any time with my only grandchild."

"We have to go, Mama," Charlotte replies. "I'm sorry."

She finishes packing her bag, and zips it up.

Almost everyone left this afternoon, with only Wilder and Daisy staying for another night. Charlotte is eager to get back home, into her own space.

She lifts the bag and heads for the door. Cooper has already taken the rest of the bags to the rental car.

"Well I expect we'll see you for Thanksgiving, then," Evaline says.

"We'll see, Mama," Charlotte replies.

Her fuse is getting shorter and shorter. She can't take one more insult or jab from her mother, especially since all of them are regarding Kati, and how Charlotte cares for her. She meets Cooper halfway down the stairs and he takes the bag, gives her a smile and carries the bag to the car.

As her mother starts to talk about home remedies for diaper rash, Charlotte looks out the front door to find Kati's carseat empty. She had been there a few minutes ago, with Cooper, and now she's gone. Ignoring her mother, Charlotte looks over into the kitchen, but it's empty. So she walks over to the sitting room, which is dimmed by the heavy curtains, keeping the heat out. Sitting in the corner, in his favourite chair, is Big Daddy. And he's holding Kati.

He doesn't look up, though he knows Charlotte and his wife are in the doorway. He just rocks his chair slowly, watching his granddaughter. Charlotte is shocked. She's never seen her father hold a baby. Ever. Except maybe one or two photos from when she was a baby. But he's held none of his nieces or nephews, or his brother's or sister's grandchildren.

Absently, Charlotte smiles, watching them. Of course Kati will have a warm and affectionate grandfather through Cooper's father, but she never wanted Kati to have to be afraid of her other grandpa. And now she knows that she won't be. She's already managed to charm a man as stoic and somber as her grandfather.

Quietly, Charlotte leaves and goes outside. Cooper closes the trunk of the car, having finished packing. He jogs back to the house and looks down at Kati's carseat.

"Where's Kati?" he frowns.

Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "You didn't notice someone taking your child?"

Cooper tilts his head, and Charlotte is too happy to rag him about it. Instead, she inclines her head and walks towards the sitting room. She lets Cooper see her father cradling their daughter, and then nudges him back to the door.

"Oh. My god," Cooper says, his brow raised.

"I know," Charlotte responds.

But then they just grin at each other.

"Give 'em a minute," she says softly. "We'll go say our goodbyes to everyone else."

They head out to the backyard where Wilder and Daisy and Evaline are seated around a table.

"Y'all are packed up, then?" Daisy smiles, getting up.

"Yeah," Charlotte replies.

She returns her aunt's hug.

"You sent me pictures of that baby, you hear?" Daisy says.

"I will," Charlotte promises.

She exchanges nods with her uncle, and accepts the stiff hug from her mother.

"I'll be expectin' pictures as well," she says, giving Charlotte a stern look.

"Yes, Mama," Charlotte replies, controlling her urge to shake her head.

She and Cooper go back inside and find Maggie in the kitchen. Maggie's the only person Charlotte actually misses. She gives her a hug and before Maggie can ask, Charlotte hands her a photo of Kati, taken a couple weeks ago.

"Oh, you knew I'd be askin'," Maggie chuckles.

It's the photo Charlotte keeps in her wallet, but she can replace it when they get home. She wants Maggie to have this one.

She squeezes her again.

"You take care of my girls, Cooper," Maggie says.

"I will," Cooper smiles, hugging her.

When they walk back towards the atrium, Big Daddy is walking out from the sitting room. Wordlessly, he gives Kati to Charlotte. He gives Charlotte that look again and shakes Cooper's hand. As Cooper opens the front door, Charlotte stands up on the tips of her toes and gives her father a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye Daddy," she says, and she gives him a small smile before she turns and follows her husband out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

By six months, Kati is beginning to make more sounds, aside from the usual gurgles and coos. She makes eye contact when spoken to, and happily recognizes her parents. She loves her extended family, and spends a couple days a week at the practice, where Charlotte is casually seeing patients. Still unwilling to hire a nanny, Charlotte insists on mixing her stay-at-home mom duties with work, while bringing Kati with her. Someone is always able to watch her.

"I'll take her," Addison offers, when Charlotte carries Kati into the kitchen.

"Of course you will," Charlotte teases, letting her take the baby. "I should only be an hour."

She sets the diaper bag on the island in the kitchen, kisses Kati's cheek and heads back to her office.

"Hi you!" Addison smiles at Kati, who smiles happily and reaches a chubby hand up to touch Addison's face.

"Looks good on you," Sheldon smiles, holding his coffee cup.

"Think so?" she grins.

"Absolutely," he nods. "You'll make an excellent mother one day."

"Well she's good practice," Addison replies, running a hand over Kati's hair.

The mass of hair she was born with has grown even longer, the dark curls twirling into loose ringlets.

"Hey," Violet walks in smiling.

"Hey," Addison replies, as Sheldon greets Violet on his way out the door.

"Hi Kati!" Violet says, taking the hand Kati holds out and kissing it.

"No patients today?" Addison asks.

"Yeah, in an hour," she replies. "I didn't schedule any for this morning. Do you wanna go get some coffee?"

"Sure," Addison replies. She bends carefully and swings her bag over her shoulder. "Just let me tell Charlotte I'm leaving her line of vision with her child."

Violet chuckles as they leave the kitchen. Charlotte is sitting across from a patient in her office, but Addison just knocks quietly and pokes her head in.

"We're going for coffee," she tells her. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Charlotte replies.

"I'm taking Kati," she adds.

"I gathered," Charlotte replies with a grin, raising an eyebrow.

Addison gives her a dry smile and closes the door.

"So how was your weekend?" Addison asks Violet as they get in the elevator.

"Amazing," Violet smiles. "I didn't realize that a little house in the woods could be so relaxing. I always thought it sounded so…primitive. Boring."

"Derek and I used to go stay at my parent's cabin in Connecticut. I loved it," she replies.

"Now I know why," Violet says. "Two days of nothing but sleeping in, soaking in a hot tub, eating, and not worrying about anything. Even clothes."

They laugh, exiting the elevator and heading for the doors. Their favourite coffee cart is just a block away.

"You guys needed a weekend away," Addison says. "This summer's been crazy at the practice."

"We all need a vacation," Violet replies. "When are you gonna take one?"

Addison shrugs. "I'm not in a rush. It's not like I have a boyfriend or anything to go anywhere with. Besides, it's been a pretty good summer. I've gotten to get closer with Amelia, and see this little one a couple times a week."

"She's a pretty good substitute for a vacation," Violet laughs, as Kati clumsily takes Addison's necklace and attempts to suck on it. "I can't believe how different Charlotte is now."

"Well, I always knew there was a nice person underneath her scary exterior," Addison replies. "She's turned out to be an amazing mother. And actually, a pretty great friend."

"Well _we_ know that," Violet answers. "I think the rest of the world isn't allowed to, though. Did you see her at the hospital last week? _That _is the Charlotte I met years ago."

Addison laughs, remembering when a doctor at St Ambrose had tried to cross Charlotte, talking to her like she was a med student or something. Charlotte had torn a strip out of him and left him red-faced and stunned.

"Now that we get Nice Charlotte, it's kind of fun to see her terrify other people," Addison chuckles.

Violet laughs.

The reach the coffee cart and wait in line.

"Oh my goodness," a woman in front of them turns around. "Your daughter is just gorgeous."

Addison smiles; she can't help it. Being Kati's aunt has made her just as proud of her as her parent's are. This isn't the first time someone has assumed she was the mother of the baby she's carrying. And she likes it.

"Thank you," she responds, as Violet subtly shakes her head, grinning.

"How old is she?" the woman asks, taking one of Kati's hands in hers.

"Six months," Addison replies, smiling at Kati.

"She is just beautiful," the woman shakes her head.

"She really is," Addison grins.

The woman turns her attention to the barista asking for her order, and Violet looks at Addison.

"What?" Addison whispers.

"We need to get you a baby," Violet replies quietly. "Of your _own_."

* * *

Back at the practice, Charlotte is still with her patient, so Addison takes Kati into her own office and Violet heads to hers to prepare for her afternoon.

Falling into the cushions of the couch, Addison stands Kati up on her stomach, holding her under her arms.

"You are gonna walk early," Addison murmurs, smiling when Kati does. "I just know it."

Kati starts to 'talk', making little sounds as she attempts to communicate. She hasn't said any real words yet, but she's getting close.

"We need to shuttle your parents off somewhere for the weekend so I can take you home," Addison goes on.

Kati giggles and Addison laughs.

"Can you say 'auntie'?" Addison says.

Kati watches her mouth and babbles her own language in return.

"Auntie," Addison repeats.

The door opens and they both look over at the noise to see Charlotte. She grins, seeing her daughter, and walks over towards them.

"Mama," Kati says clearly, pointing at her.

Addison and Charlotte freeze. They look at each other and then back at Kati, who's starting to jump against Addison's stomach, eager to see her mother.

"Did she just…" Charlotte begins, standing still.

Addison just looks at her, shocked.

"Oh my god!" Charlotte says, hurrying over.

She takes Kati, who still has her arms out towards her mother, and scoops her up.

"Oh my god," Charlotte repeats. "You just said 'mama'!"

"Mama," Kati repeats, now pressing her fingers against Charlotte's face.

Tears spring to her eyes as Charlotte hears the word. She can't look away from Kati's face, even when Addison jumps up from the couch and heads for the door.

"Yes, baby," Charlotte smiles, her eyes glassy as she touches Kati's face. "I'm your Mama."

Addison rushes back, followed closely by Cooper.

"She spoke?" he demands, excited as he rushes over.

"She said 'mama'," Charlotte answers, joy all over her face as she finally tears her eyes away from Kati to look at her husband.

"Mama," Kati says again, and when her parents look at her, she giggles, pushing her fingers into her own mouth happily.

"Oh my god!" Cooper cries, his eyes tingling as his face lights up. "She's a genius!"

The three of them laugh, Addison now sitting on the arm of the sofa.

"She absolutely is," Addison agrees, nodding. "First word at six months. She's amazing."

"Can you say 'dada'?" Cooper asks, cupping his daughter's chubby cheek.

"Mama," she replies instead.

Cooper just laughs and kisses her, wrapping an arm around his wife as they look at their baby.

"She'll get there," Charlotte assures him, happiness making her feel weightless.

* * *

"Sign language?" Addison stares.

"Well she can't exactly tell us what she wants all the time, or she just doesn't want to. She's got 'mama' and 'dada' down, and we show her pictures of everybody. She can say 'auntie' and 'grandma' and 'grandpa' in her own way. She's just not saying full sentences yet," Charlotte shrugs, smiling as Kati rubs a fat fist over her chest, signalling 'please'. "The book said teaching her signs works just as well."

She hands Kati a little bowl of watermelon pieces.

"What do you say?" Charlotte says to her, as Kati takes the bowl, still clumsy.

In response, Kati presses a hand to her mouth and then pulls it away, meaning 'thank you'.

"That's amazing," Addison shakes her head, watching as Kati carefully pushes a chunk of watermelon into her mouth. "I'm sure she'll talk more soon. I mean, she's excelling in every way. She's attentive, she responds, she's walking already."

"And she absolutely loves books," Charlotte adds. "All she wants to do is have someone read to her."

"Doctor in the making," Addison replies.

The backyard is full of people, here for Kati's first birthday. At a year old, she's looking more like a little person and less like a cherub-like baby. Though she bears the most resemblance to her mother, with her big eyes and wide smile, she somehow reminds everyone of Cooper, too. Her eyes are more blue, like his, than the green of Charlotte's; a beautiful mixture of the two. She's a happy baby, always smiling, and very smart. At nine and a half months, she took her first steps, and Charlotte and Cooper have been teaching her bits of sign language. She's able to say please, thank you, more, and all done, and understands when she's spoken to, and will shake her head for yes or no. And she speaks certain words, getting her closer to speaking sentence, a few months down the road. She loves the piano, and will sit on Cooper's lap while he plays, mesmerized by the sound and his fingers moving quickly across the keys. She'll reach a hand out and press down a key as he plays. He's certain she's going to be some kind of piano prodigy.

Charlotte picks Kati up, as she snacks on her little bowl of watermelon, and carries her outside to the party. Addison follows close behind, ready with the camera.

"There she is!" Cooper calls, seeing his daughter, up from her nap.

Kati smiles, waving as the group of people calls her name and waves. She has no idea it's her birthday, of course. But she's used to seeing most of these people. There's Violet, Pete, Sheldon, Sam, Naomi, Evaline, Big Daddy, and Cooper's parents, Rachel and Frank, who Kati attempts to call by their Jewish grandparent names, Bubbie and Zeyde. Right now it just comes out as gibberish. Even though she doesn't see her grandparents often, Cooper and Charlotte show Kati photos of them, and she recognizes them.

Charlotte sets Kati down in the high chair set near the table as everyone moves in to kiss her.

"Charlotte," Evaline starts. "Where is that dress I brought for her to wear?"

"It doesn't fit," Charlotte lies. "Besides, she's just gonna make a mess of whatever she wears today. She doesn't need to be wearin' some frilly pink disaster just because it's her birthday."

"She looks beautiful," Cooper puts in, kissing his wife's temple.

Charlotte has steadfastly refused to dress Kati in anything frilly, fluffy or pink, remembering from experience how much she hated the dresses her own mother forced on her. Which is why Kati is just wearing little black leggings and a purple top.

"If y'all wanna take photos later, I can put her in a dress," Charlotte gives in, seeing her mother's horrified face, rolling her eyes.

She takes the glass Cooper hands her and takes a drink.

"I can't drink this," she says, tasting the gin.

"You pumped this morning," Cooper replies. "She has enough to eat for today. Have a drink before your mother drives you crazy."

She hesitates but then looks up and sees her mother, looking at Kati's pants with disgust. She takes the glass back and takes another drink.


	12. Chapter 12

Charlotte straightens Kati's little jean shorts and purple top, and gives her a smile, even though on the inside she feels overwhelmed.

At five years old, Kati is starting kindergarten today. In reality, she was ready for it last September, but she was only four at the time; too young for Chadwick's acceptance rules. Charlotte decided not to push the decision since, either way, Kati's going to be one of the youngest in her year.

True to Cooper's belief that Charlotte King's daughter would be a spitfire, just like her mother, Kati is not scared or sulking about having to go to school. She's excited, and eager to go. Even though she's younger, Charlotte and Cooper know she's more than prepared for school. She's been reading since she was almost four, and is smarter than any five-year-old Cooper has ever met.

As Charlotte tucks a loose lock of dark hair behind Kati's ear, her glowing cheeks rise into a smile. Charlotte can't help but return it. For the first four years of Kati's life, Charlotte was with her almost all the time. She was seeing patients at the practice only two days a week, and someone there was always keeping an eye on Kati. When she turned five, Charlotte began taking more patients, and Kati was at the practice every day, playing in either of her parents' offices. She was content to colour or play, and someone was always within eyesight of her. But this is the first time Kati will be away from both Charlotte and Cooper.

Kati fixes her blue-green eyes on her mother and frowns.

"Why are you sad, Mama?" she asks, the Southern drawl lilting her words.

"I'm not sad, baby," Charlotte assures her, smiling again. She loves that Kati has her accent, even though she knows it will probably disappear once she starts school.

Kati tilts her head and gives Charlotte a look she recognizes as her own.

She laughs, taking Kati's cheeks in her hands and kissing her.

"Good lord, child," she chuckles. "When did you learn to give that look?"

"You're always lookin' at me like that when you think _I'm _lyin'," Kati replies, nonchalant.

Charlotte laughs.

"You're about ready, then, I suppose," Charlotte says, checking Kati over again. Dressed, hair done, backpack ready.

She walks over to the fridge and takes the lunchbox out. Cooper, fresh from a shower, hurries down the stairs.

"Ah," he breathes, looking refreshed. "Well. I'm all ready to take you to junior high, honey."

"Kindergarten, Daddy," Kati replies, giggling.

"Are you sure?" Cooper frowns.

"I'm sure," she replies, her drawl stretching the words out.

Cooper takes a minute, thinking this over, before slipping his hands under her arms and lifting Kati up into his.

"You're probably right," he says.

He bends and gives Charlotte a kiss before the three of them head for the car.

"You remember your phone number?" he asks Kati, as Charlotte locks the front door.

"323.654.2048," Kati replies.

"Aanndd your address?"

"1675 North Doheny Drive," Kati answers.

"And the square root of Pi?" Cooper asks.

"3.14," Kati replies.

She has no idea what it means, but Cooper taught her the answer anyways.

Charlotte slaps him playfully.

"What?" he laughs, handing Kati to her so she can buckle her into the backseat. "She'll know what it means _eventually_."

Charlotte just shakes her head, kisses Kati and closes the car door.

* * *

It's almost an hour's drive to Kati's school, but it's one of the best private schools in Los Angeles.

As they drive they discuss their expected patients, as Kati reads a book in the backseat. They both feel nauseas. Of course it's exciting that Kati got into such a great school, and they're so proud of her. But they've never left her for a whole day. The longest they've been away from her is when Addison or Violet takes her for an evening, while the two of them go for dinner and a movie. They're both nervous, but keeping quiet for Kati's sake. Cooper can sense his wife's tension, and he reaches out a hand and squeezes hers. She doesn't look up, but gives him a squeeze back before letting go and busying herself with her day-planner.

When they finally pull up to Chadwick, there are a lot of other cars in the parking lot, dropping their own kids off for their first day of school. The Village School's lot is more full than the other, because most middle school and high school students don't want a parent dropping them off. Cooper finds a spot and they all get out. He carries her lunch box while Kati sits against Charlotte's hip.

When they get close, Charlotte sets Kati down with a smile. It quickly turns to a frown when she sees the look on Kati's face.

"What's the matter, sugar?" she bends down, so she's eye level. Cooper follows.

Kati glances again at the people milling around. She chews her lip.

"What…" she begins softly. "What if no one likes me?"

"Oh, baby," Charlotte reaches out and hugs her, and then cups Kati's cheek in her hand. "Don't think like that. You're gonna walk in there and make a bunch of friends. Everyone gets a little nervous on the first day. But everything's gonna be just fine."

"Promise?" Kati asks quietly, looking up at her parents through her long, thick lashes.

Charlotte holds out her pinkie finger. Kati's worried face smooths as she grins and reaches her own pinkie out to her mother's.

"Promise," Charlotte replies, linking them together.

She can feel her eyes starting to sting, but she refuses to let Kati see her cry. She blinks rapidly as Cooper hugs Kati tightly.

"You remember the phone number for Mama and Daddy's work?" he asks her.

"310.255.1985," she replies softly.

"Anything you can't remember?" he grins, tickling her.

She giggles, and they both smile, relishing the sound of their daughter's childish laughter.

A woman steps outside of the school's entrance, smiling as she beckons students that it's time to go inside.

Charlotte swallows the lump in her throat and pulls Kati into her arms.

"You're gonna have the best day, baby," she says. "Daddy and I can't wait to hear all about it."

She takes Kati's face in her hands and smiles.

"And we'll be right here, as soon as school's finished, okay?"

Kati nods, her previous fear seeming to have dissipated. Charlotte can feel her eyes starting again so she kisses her daughter, gives her a smile and stands up with Cooper, after he kisses her, too.

"Have a great day, sweetie," Cooper says, wrapping an arm around his wife.

Kati smiles, her big ocean eyes twinkling, and she turns around and walks towards the doors.

They watch their tiny little girl mix into the sea of other children, clutching her lunch box. She turns around and Charlotte is glad her tears haven't pushed their way through yet as she and Cooper wave again as Kati grins and waves before disappearing inside. Her chest tightens as Kati leaves their sight.

They turn around then, and Charlotte exhales as her eyes tingle. Cooper squeezes her shoulder and she looks up to find his eyes wet, too. They smile at each other and make the walk back to the car.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Addison demands, as soon as Cooper and Charlotte enter the kitchen at work.

"Well," Cooper sighs, setting his briefcase on the island. "We were more upset than she was."

Charlotte stays quiet, getting a bottle of water from the fridge as she tosses her empty coffee cup into the trash.

"She's a tough one," Sam grins, sipping coffee.

"She's gonna be fine," Naomi assures Cooper, glancing at Charlotte, who is trying to come across as okay.

"Yeah," Addison chimes in. "She'll probably school every other kid, they'll bump her up two grades, and she'll be a world-class doctor by Thursday."

Cooper chuckles. "Yeah, that's not helping. I already feel like the last five years went by like _that_. Let's just hope the next 12 go by at a snail's pace."

Charlotte leaves the kitchen then, and everyone looks to Cooper.

"Did she cry?" Addison asks, referring to Charlotte.

"We both did," he replies, giving a breathy laugh. "Kati was nervous for about three seconds and then she was fine. Just…went right inside."

"That's a good thing," Violet tells him, seeing that this fact is bumming him out. "You guys raised a happy, well-adjusted, independent little girl."

"I know," he shakes his head of his thoughts. "I just…is it bad that sometimes I wish she were a little less independent?"

They chuckle.

"I know what you're saying, but don't," Violet smiles. "She's five, not 15. She still needs you, in a lot of ways. Just because she's going to school doesn't mean she's a thousand miles away."

"Yeah," he sighs, playing with his almost-empty coffee cup. "Just seems so crazy. She's so small, y'know? This little tiny thing, and she just marched right into that school like she had no fear at all. She's just…"

He shakes his head then, his eyes starting to water. He smiles at his friends.

"I'm fine," he assures them, as Violet and Addison tilt their heads at him, feeling bad. "This school thing is just gonna take some time."

He leaves then, heading for his office.

"Jeez," Sam shakes his head. "Five years old already. When did that happen?"

"Overnight," Addison replies bluntly.

Violet looks at her. "You too?"

Addison blinks, frowning at her. "I'm not _crying_," she retorts, even though her eyes are shiny.

Violet chuckles, and gives her a hug. "We need more kids around," she says. "I think this just seems so crazy because Kati's always here. She's been a part of our days, y'know? And she's growing up."

Addison looks over at the fridge, at a picture of her and Kati.

"Well, now I'm glad they didn't let me come along today," she says. "I probably would have cried right in front of her."

"We'll see her this afternoon," Amelia says, staring at her. "You know that, right? She's at kindergarten; not college."

"I know," Addison replies quickly. "It's just a big step!"

Amelia just rolls her eyes, shaking her head, and then smiles. "You're being silly. She's gonna love it there. She'll make more friends, and she'll have all of this stuff to tell us about. I mean, yeah I'll miss having her here during the day. But kids grow up. We should be proud of her. She's turned out pretty amazing!"

She leaves the kitchen, heading for her office.

Addison frowns after her, and Violet pats Addison on the back before they all head off to their separate offices, too.


	13. Chapter 13

Charlotte and Cooper wait eagerly outside of the Village School, as kids begin to mill about. They finally see Kati walk through the doors, accompanied by a little boy with black hair and mocha-coloured skin. The two of them giggle together. Kati spots them and her grin brightens into a smile as she waves to the boy and runs over to her parents. She leaps into Cooper's arms, and he lifts her up in a hug.

"How was it, baby?" Charlotte asks, thrilled to see her daughter so happy.

"So much fun," Kati replies excitedly. "We did letters and numbers and got to play and my friend Axel wants to play on the weekend."

Charlotte and Cooper widen their eyes as she speaks excitedly, barely taking a breath.

"Wow," Charlotte smiles. "Busy day!"

A family approaches and they look up to see the little boy Kati was with, and his family.

"Hi," Charlotte greets them.

"Hi," the woman smiles, holding out a hand; the other one gripping her younger son's, whose bottle-green eyes sparkle like gems. "I'm Jessica Mason, and this is my husband, Aaron."

"Charlotte," she replies. "And this is my husband, Cooper."

"And you must be Kati," Jessica grins.

Kati grins shyly and nods.

"Axel here was wondering if you might like to come over and play this weekend," she says.

Axel smiles at Charlotte and Cooper, who look at each other and then nod.

"That sounds great," Cooper replies. "I'm guessing this big guy here is Axel?"

Axel nods and holds out his hand to him proudly.

"And this is my older son, Atticus," Jessica introduces.

"Well it's lovely to meet y'all," Charlotte says. "I'm glad Kati made a friend today."

Jessica hands Charlotte a business card, and they make plans to get the kids together on Saturday.

* * *

"Axel seems nice," Charlotte says, as she helps Kati buckle herself in.

"He likes X-Men," Kati replies. "And his favourite is Wolverine."

"Wow," Cooper grins at her in the rearview mirror. "And Wolverine really likes Jean Grey."

"I know," Kati grins. Jean Grey is her favourite. "All the other girls just wanted to play dolls and stuff, but Axel likes the same stuff as me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll meet a girl who likes dolls as much as you do," Charlotte replies slyly.

"Not at all?" Kati replies, frowning, and her parents chuckle.

"What else did you do?" Cooper asks, as they drive back to the practice.

Kati begins to tell them about her day, and Charlotte grins at her through her mirror, glad to see her daughter so animated and happy.

* * *

"There she is!" Addison smiles, handing her patient file to the receptionist and holding her arms out to Kati as she steps off the elevator.

Kati runs over into Addison's arms with a huge smile on her face.

"How was school?" Addison asks, lifting her into her arms and carrying her to the kitchen.

"So good," Kati replies. "We played games and did letters and numbers, and I played X-Men with my friend Axel, and he gave me his fruit snacks at lunch."

"Ooo," Addison says, meeting Charlotte's eyes as she sets Kati's backpack on the island in the kitchen. "A boy?"

"All the girls just wanted to play dolls," Kati replies, her nose wrinkling to show her distaste.

Addison laughs, and Charlotte takes Kati's snack out of the fridge, bringing it to her at the island.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Addison teases.

"No," Kati replies quickly. "We just like the same things."

"Play date on Saturday," Cooper adds.

Sam and Naomi enter the kitchen then.

"Hey hey," Sam smiles, holding his hand up to Kati. "Kindergartener in the house!"

Kati slaps his hand.

"Did you have a good day, honey?" Naomi asks, bending to kiss Kati's forehead on her way to the fridge.

"Mmhmm," Kati replies, her mouth full of juice.

They all stand around the island, asking Kati about her day.

* * *

At home, Bubbie and Zeyde call to see how Kati's first day went, and again she talks about her day. As soon as dinner is over, she's yawning and looking tired, so Charlotte takes her upstairs for her bath a little early.

She gets her dressed in her pyjamas and carries her downstairs, where Cooper reads her another chapter of _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, and by 7:30, she's asleep in Charlotte's lap.

"She hasn't fallen asleep this early like…ever," Cooper says, as he and Charlotte descend the stairs after putting Kati to bed.

"It was a big day for her," Charlotte replies, a yawn escaping her own mouth.

"For everyone, I think," Cooper grins.

They curl into the couch, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Can you believe she's five already?" Cooper mumbles, leaning against the back of the couch with Charlotte wrapped under his arm.

"Yesterday she was two," Charlotte replies.

They're quiet again.

"Do you ever think about maybe having another baby?" Cooper asks quietly.

"Sometimes," Charlotte replies. "But I think I like the pace we're at right now. Now that I'm working at the hospital, too, I'm not sure I could handle two."

"I guess," he says. "But we make pretty amazing babies."

"That we do," Charlotte agrees. "I guess I'm just a little selfish right now. I've only been chief of staff for a few months. I wanna cement that, y'know? And I wanna focus on Kati."

"Someday," Cooper says. "I do want another one."

"I know," Charlotte replies.

It's not that she doesn't want another baby. She's just in a position to focus on the child she has, and on her blossoming career. Another baby would mean another maternity leave, and it wouldn't be the same as with the practice. She wouldn't be able to be casual at the hospital with this job. Especially since she's still working at the practice, too. And Kati deserves to have everything, and with another baby, Charlotte's worried that Kati wouldn't get the focus she needs.

They cuddle on the couch for awhile, watching The Daily Show, until Charlotte can feel her eyes start to get tired.

"I'm goin' up to bed," she tells Cooper.

"Okay," Cooper says as she leans to kiss him. "I'll be up soon."

She makes her way up the stairs, and stops at Kati's bedroom door, which is slightly ajar. She pushes it open and looks over at her daughter, asleep. She tiptoes inside and sits on the bed, as the moonlight casts just enough light for her to see Kati's face. She's sound asleep, and Charlotte knows it would take a blow horn to wake her up. She's not worried about interrupting her sleep.

She reaches out and runs a hand over Kati's silky dark hair, splayed across her pillow. For someone who was terrified when she found out she was going to have a baby, sometimes she wishes Kati was just a few months old again. Sometimes she can't believe this little girl used to fit in the crook of her arm. She's small for her age, but so big, in Charlotte's eyes. She wishes she could just slow time down a little bit. Before she knows it, Kati will be grown up, and she won't need her so much. The thought scares her a little bit.

She lays down, resting her head on Kati's pillow, so she's facing her daughter. Kati's long, thick lashes rest against her cheek. Charlotte takes her small hand. It fits in the palm of her own.

"Don't grow up too fast, baby girl," she whispers, resting her other palm against Kati's cheek, and she stays a few moments longer, staring at the face she's memorized every inch of.

* * *

When Saturday rolls around, Charlotte and Cooper take Kati over to the Mason's house in the afternoon. Aaron Mason answers the door with a smile.

He lets them inside and Axel comes racing from a nearby hallway.

"Kati," he grins happily. "My mom got me new X-Men toys. Come on!"

Without a second glance, Kati takes off after Axel, and they dodge Jessica Mason as she appears from the hallway.

"That boy's got more energy than he knows what to do with," she says, chuckling.

She comes to shake Charlotte and Cooper's hands and leads them out to the deck.

Aaron brings out some coffee and the four of them sit and get to know each other.

"And what do you both do?" Jessica asks, after she and Aaron describe their own careers as an interior decorator and an engineer.

"Well I'm a paediatrician," Cooper replies. "And Charlotte's a urologist, and chief of staff at St Ambrose."

"Doctors!" Jessica says. "No wonder your Kati is so smart. Axel won't stop talking about her."

Charlotte and Cooper chuckle proudly.

"Says she can recite the alphabet backwards, just as quickly as she can say it normally," Aaron grins.

"Well, that's my fault," Cooper admits. "She learns so fast, I figured I might as well teach it to her backwards too."

"I know what you mean," Aaron nods. "Seems like I show Axel something once, and he picks it up. Atticus, too. They both watch me work sometimes, and I can already tell that Axel will end up working with computers. I just know it."

"He seems like a great kid," Cooper replies. "Kati was so excited to come today."

"She's a wonderful girl," Jessica smiles warmly. "Axel tells us she plays piano?"

"She does," Cooper nods. "I've been teaching her since she was four."

"You're a pianist?" Aaron says, impressed.

"Mmm, it's a hobby," Cooper replies modestly. "My dad taught me. Kati really didn't stand a chance."

"He could barely wait to get her playin'," Charlotte grins. "Had her sittin' on his lap at the piano as soon as she could."

"Atticus plays the cello," Jessica says. "He loves it, but Axel's more interested in computers than music. Getting him to do his cello lessons is torture."

The four of them sit out on the comfy deck furniture, as Kati and Axel and Atticus play downstairs. When the three of them get hungry, they barrel up the stairs. Atticus and Axel race each other to the deck, and Atticus ends up tripping and smacking his face into the wooden planks of the deck.

"Oh, honey!" Jessica jumps up, hurrying over.

Charlotte, Cooper and Aaron reach him a moment later. Kati and Axel stand back, their eyes wide in horror as Atticus sits up, holding his hands over his face as blood drips onto the deck.

"Aaron, a cloth," Jessica says, pulling her nine-year-old son up onto a chair.

"Can I see your face, buddy?" Cooper asks, as Aaron hurries back outside and hands Atticus the cloth.

His eyes are watering, but Atticus is a tough kid. He's barely made a sound. He moves his hands, and his mother stifles a gasp. Charlotte and Cooper are used to this, and Aaron maintains his strong front.

One of Atticus' front teeth is in his hands, and another tooth, from the bottom, is hanging from his gums. Blood pours from his nose and mouth.

Cooper carefully inspects the teeth.

"Well, at least they're baby teeth," he says.

Aaron leaves and comes back with a first aid kit, and Cooper carefully cleans Atticus up. Once the blood is gone, it doesn't look nearly as bad.

"Your nose isn't broken," he tells Atticus. "But it looks like your teeth cut into your bottom lip here. You're gonna be sore, but it looks worse than it is. You don't need any stitches. You okay?"

Atticus nods, his eyes clear now.

"Yeah," his muffled voice comes through. "I'm okay."

"Tough kid," Cooper claps him on the shoulder and gives him a smile, as Jessica keeps an arm around her son.

"Boys will be boys," Aaron says, running a hand over his son's head. "And you've got some treasure to leave for the Tooth Fairy tonight, buddy."

Atticus grins, taking the teeth his father hands him.

"I think teeth that fall out from an accident earn 25% interest," he says.

They all laugh, and Aaron gives his son a hug.

"I'll talk to her," he smiles. "See what she thinks."

Charlotte goes and bends down in front of Kati, who is still standing with Axel near the door.

"You guys okay?" she smiles comfortingly.

They nod, but Axel looks miserable.

"I'm sorry, Atticus," he says quietly.

"It's okay, bro," Atticus says, holding an ice pack to his face. "It's not your fault. It was a good race though!"

Axel smiles, small.

"Well, we should get going," Cooper says.

They all walk inside towards the front door, and Jessica settles Atticus on the couch along the way.

"Thanks Dr Freedman," he waves.

"No problem, buddy," Cooper smiles.

"Thanks for bringing Kati over to play," Jessica says, as they reach the front door. "And thank you for helping Atticus. I should be used to these two getting scraped up and falling down, but it still seems to scare me a bit."

"I don't think that ever goes away," Charlotte replies kindly.

"Thanks for coming over, Kati," Axel says, holding his Dad's hand.

Kati smiles and remembers her manners, thanking the Masons for inviting her over, and the family leaves.

"Daddy," Kati says.

"Yeah sweetie," he answers.

"When my teeth start falling out, will you make sure the Tooth Fairy knows about the 25% interest rule?" she asks.

Charlotte and Cooper burst out laughing as they drive away.


	14. Chapter 14

"If she's not here in five minutes, she's going to miss the flight," Charlotte shakes her head, looking at her watch again.

"She'll be here," Addison replies, tired and wanting to get on the plane. "She's always wherever she needs to be, as soon as she needs to be there. Never early, never late."

"Well, she should make an exception for flights," Charlotte replies dryly.

"Mama, I'm tired," Kati whimpers, clutching her favourite stuffed giraffe.

It's 6:00 AM, and everyone's tired. Sam, Naomi, Pete and Violet have already boarded the plane. Cooper, Charlotte and Addison are waiting for Amelia.

"I've gotta get her to her seat," Charlotte tells Addison, handing Cooper her carry-on bag so she can bend and lift up her five-year-old.

"We'll wait for her," Cooper replies. "Four more minutes and I'll be there."

Charlotte nods and carries Kati towards the gate, handing the woman their tickets and passports.

"Why are we awake so early?" Kati mumbles, her head already lying on Charlotte's shoulder.

"Because we're going on Christmas vacation, remember?" Charlotte replies, making her way along the hallway.

"With a whistler?" Kati says.

"_In _Whistler, baby," Charlotte replies.

"Good morning, Mrs Freedman," the flight attendant smiles, subtly checking Charlotte's ticket so she knows her name.

She shows her to their first-class seats.

"Where's Amelia?" Violet sticks her head up from the two seats behind Charlotte and Kati's.

"Pushing her luck," Charlotte replies.

"She'll be here," Pete replies, flipping through a magazine casually.

As doctors, they're all used to being up early, running on no sleep, and being awake at odd hours. So Kati is really the only person who's struggling to stay awake right now. Charlotte looks around for her bag.

"Dammit," she says under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Violet asks.

"I handed Cooper my carry-on," she sighs. "I wasn't thinkin'."

Rather than walk out there, Charlotte just settles into her seat with Kati on her lap, who is already falling asleep.

As the flight attendant checks her watch, Charlotte exhales. It's been a stressful morning, trying to get to the airport on time, and she's ready to relax.

"Walks in at 6:05 on the nose," Cooper tells Charlotte, arriving with their carry-on.

Amelia appears, with Addison, and smiles at Charlotte.

"Always thinking I'm gonna be late," she shakes her head.

"You toe a line," Charlotte replies, grateful whe Cooper pulls out Kati's blanket, so she can settle her into her seat.

Cooper sits down across the aisle, with Addison between him and Amelia.

Charlotte lifts the arm rest between her seat and Kati's, so Kati's lying across the seat with her head in Charlotte's lap. Charlotte frowns as she brushes the hair from Kati's forehead, and feels the warmth radiating from her.

"What?" Cooper asks, seeing her.

"She's warm," Charlotte replies, looking to him.

Concerned, Cooper stands up to get closer to his wife and daughter. He touches Kati's forehead.

"She is warm," he agrees, as he starts to look through the bag of Kati's carry-on, and finds the children's Tylenol.

"I'm not sure she needs that," Charlotte says carefully.

Ever since her struggle with pills, before Kati was born, she's been very careful with any painkillers. She knows she can be a bit unreasonable sometimes, but she also knows there will always be a part of her that both wants and detests them. She doesn't want Kati taking medicine unless she absolutely needs it. Charlotte prefers to look to home remedies first. Unfortunately, there's no bathtub of lukewarm water to stick Kati in right now. The flight is only two and a half hours, so Charlotte begrudgingly agrees to the Tylenol.

Charlotte's forehead stays creased as she wraps Kati in her blanket and settles her back across her lap. Kati's angry frown from being woken up smoothes over as she starts to fall back asleep.

She reaches back into her bag and finds the thermometer she packed. Carefully, she places it inside Kati's shirt, under her armpit. She waits, glancing over at Cooper.

"One hundred," Charlotte says, looking at Cooper with an unimpressed expression.

Cooper absently chews his lip, looking at Kati as he measures the Tylenol.

"Kati, baby, wake up," Cooper says softly.

Charlotte gently rouses her, and Kati frowns, unimpressed to be woken up. Charlotte bites her lip to keep from smiling; Kati's pretty hilarious when you wake her up early. Cooper gives Kati a bit of the Tylenol as Charlotte peels the zip-up sweater from her. The hair around Kati's forehead and the back of her neck is damp with sweat.

"Cooper," she says, her head holding up Kati's dark mass of hair.

His forehead creases as he touches his daughter's hot skin.

"It's probably just a cold," Cooper tells his wife, trying to stay calm, for both their sakes.

The rest of the passengers in first class are busy reading their newspapers and making small talk as the plane prepares to take off. The seat belt sign flashes on.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Charlotte mutters. "Have to wake her up all over again."

Cooper helps her sit Kati up a bit, so her seat belt can be done up. Thankfully, with Charlotte pressed close to her so she can lean on her, Kati doesn't wake up.

"She okay?" Addison asks, leaning towards them.

"Just a fever," Cooper replies. "She's fine."

He hides the nervous feeling spreading through his stomach. Being a paediatrician, he always assumed that any health issues with his children would be easily diagnosed and cared for, by him. He never expected to be so scared every time Kati had a fever, or a cough, or even scraped herself playing outside. His mind reels, thinking of every possible ailment with first symptoms involving a fever.

The flight attendant smiles, as she walks up and down the aisles, checking trays and seat belts.

"Can I please get an ice pack and an apple juice," Cooper asks her.

"As soon as we've taken off, sir," the woman smiles, nodding.

"Alright," he nods once. "As soon as possible, please. It's for my daughter."

The woman, with a name tag that says Jenny, nods again and walks to her own seat near the front, beside another flight attendant.

"She's fine," Cooper reaches over and squeezes Charlotte's arm.

"I know," she replies quickly.

Cooper manages a small smile. His wife gets just as scared as he does, but she's way better at hiding it. If you don't know her. If you do, then you can recognize her snappish tone as fear.

As soon as the plane is up in the air and the seat belt sign goes off, Cooper is up and repeating his needs to Jenny.

Politely, she retrieves the items and hands them to Cooper.

Back at their seats, Cooper manages to set the ice pack underneath Kati, under her blanket, and get her to take a few sips of juice. He gives Charlotte an encouraging smile and sits back in his seat.

Wanting to distract herself, and definitely not able to fall asleep, Charlotte pulls a book out of her bag.

With one arm around Kati, she reaches that arm up, every 15 minutes or so, and checks Kati's forehead again and again.

Finally, the captain announces that they are beginning their descent to the Vancouver airport.

Cooper looks to Charlotte for an update.

"Ninety-nine point nine," she informs him.

Kati's been asleep the entire flight, and Charlotte's not sure if it's because of the fever or not, because Kati is dead to the world until at least 7:00, and this morning she was woken up at 4:45 AM and jumbled around from house to car to airport. She's tired and cranky.

Sitting her up very carefully, Charlotte again does up Kati's seat belt and waits for the plane to land.

* * *

"Kids get fevers all the time that don't mean anything," Amelia says evenly, meeting the eyes of both Charlotte and Cooper.

"Well, I'm not waiting until it's 104 to get her checked out," Cooper replies, loading their bags into one of the SUVs they rented.

"You sure?" he looks to Pete, for the third time.

"Positive," Pete replies, clapping Cooper on the shoulder. "You get Kati looked at, and then we'll meet you at the cabin."

The drive to Whistler from the airport is about two hours. It's 9:00 AM now, and Cooper's glad he won't have to make the drive in the dark.

They pack up the three cars, and as Charlotte and Cooper and Kati drive into the city to find a hospital, the other seven head north, towards Whistler Blackcomb, and the five-bedroom cabin they've rented for the holidays.

* * *

It only takes half an hour for Cooper and Charlotte to find the children's hospital. Inside, they both fight the urge to just find a room and set Kati up themselves.

Praising their insurance and Cooper's sweet-talk towards the nurses, it doesn't long until they're settled and waiting for the doctor. Kati is still tired, barely awake as she rests in her father's arms.

"Hi folks," the doctor appears, pulling the curtain around them.

"Dr Freedman," Cooper stands up, holding out a hand.

"I'm Dr Welsh," the doctor smiles pleasantly.

"My wife, Dr Freedman," Cooper says.

"Hi," Dr Welsh shakes Charlotte's hand. "You guys are from…California! Here for the holidays, I assume?"

He looks up from the chart the nurse started.

"Just flew in," Cooper replies. "She's had a fever since 6:00 this morning."

"Well not the best start to your Canadian holiday," Dr Welsh says, going over the chart.

"We just want her looked at; get a second opinion," Charlotte says, not interest in chitchat.

Dr Welsh nods and smiles at Kati, as Cooper sits her on the bed.

"Hi Katelyn," he says kindly. "You're not feeling so good today, huh?"

Kati shakes her head, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"Does your throat hurt?" he asks, feeling her forehead and getting ready to check her pulse.

Kati shakes her head; her parents already asked her all of this.

"Do you have a headache?" the doctor goes on.

"I'm tired," Kati replies, tired and shy.

Dr Welsh does an exam, checking Kati for any other symptoms.

"Well I'm on the same page as you, doctor," he says to Cooper. "I can't find anything else besides the fever. It might just be one of those 24-hour spells. Kid gets a fever or vomiting, and the next day they're fine."

Relieved, Charlotte exhales. She's half glad he didn't find anything, and half worried _because _he couldn't find anything. Dr Welsh gives Cooper his card as they talk about to best remedy for Kati right now, before they head back to the rental.

"I'm sure she'll be herself by morning," Cooper says to Charlotte, as she buckles Kati into the backseat.

She nods shortly and gets in front.

"You better call them," Cooper says, starting to drive. "They'll be wondering."

So Charlotte calls Addison and lets her know that Kati's trip to the doctor went okay.

The hospital put them about an hour behind the others, so by the time they reach the cabin, it's around 1:00 PM, and everyone is unpacked and putting together a lunch in the kitchen.

Their eyes all focus on Charlotte and Cooper as they walk in.

"She's okay," Cooper says, as Kati sleeps in his arms. "Doctor couldn't find anything, either, so…. I'm sure by tomorrow morning, she's perfect."

They nod, agreeing with him, hoping to help them relax.

So Charlotte takes Kati into the room the three of them are sharing, and sets Kati on the smaller bed.

Cooper drops his jacket on a chair, exhaling.

"You go on and have a shower," Charlotte nods towards the en suite bathroom.

"You coming?" he asks.

She nods and he goes to the bathroom to start up the shower. Carefully, Charlotte takes Kati's sweat-dampened clothes off, and covers her with the clean, dry blankets. She takes her temperature again.

"Back up to a hundred," Charlotte says under her breath and sighs.

She bends down and presses her lips to Kati's hot forehead. She hesitates, and then heads to the bathroom to clean the tired, airplane-and-long-drive feeling off of her.


	15. Chapter 15

Feeling refreshed, but still worried about Kati, Charlotte and Cooper enter the kitchen after having made sure that Kati was comfortable and okay.

"This place is incredible," Cooper says, taking the beer that Sam offers him.

"It's basically a chalet," Violet says looking up at the extremely high ceiling with its exposed beams. "I love it."

"How's her fever?" Addison asks.

"She's sitting at 101 right now," Charlotte replies. "She was at a hundred on the plane."

* * *

They spend the afternoon settling into the cabin, playing some card games and sipping beer, or hot chocolate with Baileys. Around 5:00 PM, the seven of them are all snuggled into the cozy living room, as the fire crackles in the fireplace and the huge window showcases the snowy wonderland outside.

"Mama?" comes a quiet Southern voice.

They all turn to see Kati, standing there in her underwear looking confused. Charlotte and Cooper are already up and going over to her. Cooper wraps her in a blanket and lifts her up.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" he asks, as Charlotte feels her forehead.

"Good," Kati replies, grinning at her aunts and uncles as they smile at her.

"It's normal," Charlotte says to Cooper, puzzled. Frowning, Cooper replaces her hand with his, across Kati's forehead.

"No way," he mumbles, looking at Charlotte.

They both look at Kati. She looks fine. Her eyes aren't glassy, her face isn't red anymore and the hair on her head isn't wet with sweat.

"Yay!" Addison claps, smiling at Kati. "You're all better! Come and see me!"

Cooper sits down beside Addison so she can hug Kati.

"I better give her a bath," Charlotte says, so glad that Kati's fever broke.

Addison kisses Kati's cheek and then Charlotte picks her up, still wrapped in the blanket.

"Oo, you're gettin' too big for your Mama to be haulin' you around," Charlotte says, smiling at Kati.

She gets her into the bath and then some fresh clothes before Kati is impatiently waiting for Charlotte to finish combing her hair.

"Alright, git," Charlotte says, giving in. "Get your auntie to comb it then!"

Kati races back to her mother, takes the comb, and takes off again.

She runs into the living room where everyone is still nestled into their sweaters and blankets, chatting by the fire. She crawls onto the couch beside Addison.

"Let's let Kati pick," Addison says, grinning as Kati climbs onto her lap.

"Excellent idea," Cooper raises a finger, turning to his daughter. "Honey, would you rather have yummy steak for dinner, with mashed potatoes, or do you want pork chops?"

Kati wrinkles her nose. She hates pork chops.

"Steak," she replies easily, and Sam, Amelia and Addison raises a fist to cheer while the rest of them scoff, beaten. Cooper holds up a hand and Kati slaps it.

"Not fair," Amelia says. "She's Jewish. She _has _to hate pork!"

"She's half Jewish," Cooper replies. "Actually, maybe even a quarter Jewish. And she loves bacon, so…"

"Agh, fine," Amelia gives in. She reaches over and tickles Kati, on Addison's lap. "Only for you!"

She laughs as Kati giggles, squirming.

The kitchen fills again as Sam, Violet, Naomi and Cooper start to make dinner. Charlotte sits on the couch as Amelia and Addison get more comfortable.

"Charlotte, you missed seeing the hottest man on the entire planet. At a gas station," Amelia says, her eyes widening.

Charlotte raises her eyebrows and looks at Addison.

"It's true," Addison says, shaking her head. "I was impressed."

"Go on," Charlotte says, sipping the drink Cooper brought her.

"Dark hair, dark brown eyes, incredible jawline, and built like a swimmer," Amelia gushes.

"A swimmer?" Charlotte frowns.

"As in toned, fantastic muscles. I mean, he's the type of guy you look at and just want to climb like a jungle gym," Addison answers, as she combs Kati's hair.

"You guys _do _know that I'm still here, right?" they hear, as Charlotte elbows Addison.

The three of them look over and see Pete, sitting in an armchair with a beer halfway to his mouth.

"Oh, sorry," Addison says. "We should have asked you, too: how hot do you think he was?"

They laugh, and even Pete chuckles as he stands up and salutes them with his beer bottle as he heads for the kitchen where Sam and Cooper are.

"Why'd you poke me?" Addison asks, still smiling from laughing.

"Because sometimes you have to watch what you say in front of a certain audience," she replies, her eyes widening as she looks down at Kati, sitting on the floor in front of Addison as she combs her hair.

"Oh, shit," Addison mutters, and then hangs her head, placing a hand on her forehead at her second infraction. "Sorry. Sometimes I forget!"

Charlotte chuckles, leaning back again.

"Well go on," she says, after a moment of silence among them. "Incredible jawline…"

Amelia laughs.

"Yes, truly incredible. He looked like a young George Clooney. But sharper features."

"Ah, Cloons," Addison sighs, shaking her head and staring at nothing. "One day…."

"Then you woulda loved Kati's doctor at the hospital," Charlotte replies.

Addison and Amelia look at her, enticed.

"Y'all remember that lawyer I dated for awhile, before Cooper?" Charlotte raises an eyebrow, even though Amelia wasn't around then.

"Barely. You were kind of a little bit of a huge b-" Addison starts to say. "-elle." She finishes awkwardly.

"As in, belle of the ball. Southern Belle," she quickly says, glancing down at Kati, who has been colouring at the coffee table for last couple minutes. It doesn't look like she's even paying attention.

"Mama doesn't wanna be a Southern Belle," she suddenly says.

Surprised that she was even listening, the three women raise their eyebrows.

"Girls who don't use their brains are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine," Kati goes on, her Southern accent still intact, even though it's been fading recently.

The three women burst out laughing, and Addison bends down to kiss Kati.

"Did I just hear our daughter repeat a Southern adage that she heard from her mother?" Cooper appears, tilting his head.

But the three of them just laugh, and Kati giggles as Charlotte reaches down and hauls her up onto her lap, kissing her cheek.

"Alright, alright," Charlotte replies, looking at Cooper, smiling. "You were right."

Cooper just chuckles at their private joke, then kisses Kati and Charlotte and heads back to the kitchen.

They were talking about Evaline and Charlotte said she'd never be like her, but Cooper told her that she was a Southern mother in a lot of ways, like how Kati is going to learn all these sayings that no one else has heard, just from picking up what Charlotte says. Charlotte had just gotten annoyed and said she was nothing like Evaline, and Cooper dropped it.

"Kati!" Amelia says, as soon as Cooper's gone. "You're awesome, you know that?"

"Yeah, you're gonna have to write that one down," Addison laughs. "That one is a keeper."

"When were you telling her _that_?" Amelia raises an eyebrow, amused.

"We were talkin' about school, and how important it is," Charlotte replies, rolling her eyes. "We had a conversation."

Amelia and Addison chuckle.

"Screen door on a submarine," Amelia says, shaking her head. "You need to start a list, and write these down so I can remember them when I need to shut somebody down. Hard."

"She's got about a million of them," Addison replies, starting to braid Kati's hair.

"Anyway," Amelia says. "You were dating a lawyer…"

"Right, this huge guy from New Hampshire. He was…" Charlotte pauses, with her beer close to her lips. "A beautiful man."

"Ohh," Addison says, remembering. "I remember seeing him once or twice."

She nods, smiling at the memory.

"Well, that's what Kati's doctor looked like," Charlotte replies, and raises her brow at Amelia.

"You must have a thing for paediatricians," Amelia surmises.

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "I wasn't sizin' him up, Amelia. I just noticed the resemblance."

"You should have gotten his number for me," she says.

"A paediatrician?" Addison raises an eyebrow. "For someone who never wants kids, you better make a pact with yourself right now to never fall in love with a paediatrician. Every paediatrician wants kids."

Charlotte nods her agreement and Amelia makes a face.

"That's true," she agrees.

After a moment she shrugs. "Oh well. I'm sure there are lots of incredibly sexy, beautiful men out there who don't want kids."

"You don't want a baby?" Kati asks, standing up as Addison finishes tying her hair tie.

"Nope, no babies for me," Amelia replies.

"Why?" Kati asks.

"Because I already have _you_," Amelia replies, hugging and tickling her.

She giggles and breaks away.

"I want a baby brother," she announces.

Charlotte picks her up and sets her on her lap. "I know, baby. And I'm sorry, but I don't think Santa's gonna be bringin' one."

"Maybe next Christmas, then," Kati says.

Charlotte just kisses her head and hugs her.

"Why don't you go and grab your book," she says. "I'll read to you while we wait for dinner."

Kati hops off her lap and pads down the hallway.

Addison raises her eyebrows, giving Charlotte a what-are-you-gonna-do-about-that look. Charlotte just raises her brow in response, and gets up to go to the kitchen.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mama, can Raina come over to play?" Kati asks, as Charlotte pulls away from the school parking lot.

"Who's Raina?" Charlotte asks, looking at Kati in the rearview mirror.

"A girl in my class," Kati replies.

"I don't see why not," Charlotte replies, making the turn that will take them home instead of to the practice. "How about Saturday?"

She meets Kati's eyes, and she nods.

"You okay, baby?" Charlotte asks.

"Yeah," Kati kind of sighs. "Just tired."

The last couple weeks, since Christmas, Kati has been just a little bit less upbeat than she usually is. Charlotte was attributing it to being tired, after a busy holiday season, but she's been keeping a close eye on her.

When they get home, Kati runs upstairs to change out of her school clothes while Charlotte starts to prepare for dinner.

"What's for homework today, darlin'?" Charlotte asks as she pulls vegetables from the fridge.

"Nothing," Kati replies, coming back down the stairs wearing leggings and a sweater.

"Nothing?" Charlotte repeats, surprised.

"Nope," Kati says, taking a juice box from the fridge.

She goes over to the desk where the phone, mail and house keys are kept, and digs through the bottom cupboard for crayons and some paper. She sets everything on the table before going over to the CD player in the living room and clicks it on. Charlotte smiles to herself, loving how Kati likes to have everything just so.

"What's the coolest thing you learned today?" she asks, as Kati climbs into her chair and sits on her knees.

"Starfish don't have brains," Kati replies, already plucking crayons out of the pencil case.

"Really?" Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Wow."

She starts to cut up vegetables for a salad as Kati colours. The radio plays in the background and Kati starts to hum. A couple years ago, once Kati had been sitting on Cooper's lap at the piano for a few months, she'd started to hum along to music. Eventually, she started singing, and Cooper looked as if Christmas had come early when he heard his daughter match pitch and hold notes. He began teaching her piano as soon as possible, after that, and Kati had quickly showed her musical abilities. Now, she starts to sing along with Macy Gray and Charlotte just grins, making dinner, listening to her. She doesn't necessarily know all the words, but she sings what she thinks are the words, and it's the cutest thing to Charlotte.

"Mrs Lahiri put a bunch of our art and stuff on display for Parent's Night," Kati announces, colouring a rainbow.

"That sounds great, baby," Charlotte replies. "I can't wait to see it!"

Tomorrow night is Kati's first Parent's Night. She's been excited about it for the last week.

By the time Cooper arrives home from the practice, Kati is finishing her drawing and Charlotte is setting the salad on the table.

"Hey," Cooper smiles widely, walking into the kitchen and tossing his keys into the wooden bowl on the desk. "How are my girls?"

Kati grins and hops off the chair, rushing over to jump into her father's arms.

"Starvin'," Charlotte replies, smiling and kissing him. "So go on and get changed, and then we'll eat."

Cooper drops his briefcase and takes a minute to play with Kati, tickling her as she wraps her arms around him. He tosses her onto the couch and she laughs; she loves being lobbed onto the couch. Cooper can only assume this means his daughter will love all things dangerous, like sky diving and bungee jumping and a hundred other things he'll never let her do.

"Daddy's gotta change," he grins at her. "Will you pour me a glass of juice?"

Kati nods and Cooper heads upstairs.

A few minutes later, as Charlotte helps Kati clean up her art supplies, Cooper walks downstairs.

"How was your day, honey?" Cooper asks his daughter, taking the plate of fried chicken that Charlotte hands him.

"Good," Kati replies, forking mashed potatoes into her mouth.

"Apparently we've got some pretty cool things to see tomorrow night," Charlotte says.

"Oh, what's tomorrow night?" Cooper asks, teasing Kati.

"Daddy," Kati says, tilting her head. Cooper is reminded so strongly of Charlotte that he smiles. "It's Parent's Night."

"No way," Cooper widens his eyes. "So it's a night just for parents? I get to do whatever I want?"

"I guess," Kati shrugs. "But you'll have to do it at school, because that's where all the other parents will be."

He laughs, meeting his wife's eyes.

"Kati's gonna have a playdate this weekend," Charlotte offers, as they eat.

"Oh, is Axel coming over?" he replies.

"No," Charlotte says, glancing at Kati. "Kati's new friend Raina."

"That's great, baby," Cooper replies happily. "Do you guys play together at school?"

"Sometimes," Kati replies.

She doesn't seem to want to offer any more details, so they move the conversation to Cooper's day at the practice, and Charlotte's day at the hospital. Now that she's working there, she's only working Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the practice.

"Sam's trying to get Addison and Naomi on board for a new ultrasound machine," Cooper says, raising an eyebrow at Charlotte.

"Brave man," Charlotte replies. "Last time Sheldon tried to get something new for the office, all three of 'em shut him down."

"Well, he's probably gonna be able to sway Addison," Cooper shrugs. "An ultrasound machine? She'll go for it."

"Yeah, that's probably true," Charlotte agrees.

They finish up dinner and then Charlotte takes Kati upstairs to get her ready for bed.

As Kati slowly pulls herself out of her shirt, Charlotte reaches a hand out to help her climb into the tub and she sees it. A dark bruise forming on the back left side of Kati's ribcage.

"Baby, what happened?" she asks, turning her daughter so she can examine the plum-sized bruise.

"I fell," Kati replies, climbing into the tub.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asks.

"Mmhmm," Kati replies, trying to get her hair wet without submerging her face. Ever since she was a baby, Kati hated baths. As she got older and hated them less, she still refused to lie back in the water, and being submerged in it is out of the question: she flat out refuses.

They're planning on starting her in swimming lessons this summer, to try and help her get over the fear.

"Well be careful, sugar," Charlotte says, lathering Kati's hair.

"I am," Kati replies obviously. "Can we have an X-Men party for my birthday?"

"Sure, baby," Charlotte laughs.

Kati's sixth birthday is in a couple weeks, on February 18.

After she's all cleaned up, dried and in pyjamas, Kati goes and grabs her book.

"Daddy!" she calls, climbing back onto her bed with the book.

"Coming, honey!" Cooper calls from downstairs.

Charlotte helps her get under the blankets and get comfortable before she settles in beside her, as Cooper comes into the bedroom with a smile, ready to read to Kati.

* * *

"Baby, this is wonderful!" Charlotte says, looking at the portion of the wall where Kati's work is featured.

Beside her parents, Kati grins, blushing proudly.

She shows them around her classroom until Mrs Lahiri comes to let them know it's time for their one-on-one. Kati busies herself in the play area as her parents go and sit with the teacher.

They discuss Kati's progress, and Charlotte and Cooper are happy to hear that Kati is having no problems at all, academically.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte says, her forehead creasing. "Is she having problems in some other area?"

"Well, I'm a little concerned about the way another student has been with her," Mrs Lahiri says carefully. "One of the girls has been a little rude to her lately, and I think she may have pushed Kati earlier this week."

"What?" Cooper demands, frowning. "Someone pushed her?"

"The bruise on her back," Charlotte says, and Cooper remembers as the two of them look to the teacher for more information.

"I didn't see it, and when I asked them about it, Raina denied it and Kati just shook her head no," Mrs Lahiri says.

"Wait," Charlotte says. "Raina?"

"Yes," Mrs Lahiri answers. "Raina Smith."

Charlotte and Cooper look at each other, puzzled.

"We just made a playdate with Raina for tomorrow," Charlotte says. "I spoke to her mother this afternoon."

"Oh," Mrs Lahiri says, surprised.

"What do you mean by rude?" Cooper asks, trying to figure this out.

"Well, she's said a few things and has just made it quite obvious that she doesn't really like Kati," the teacher explains. "You know how kids can be, stealing each other's toys or giving dirty looks."

"I don't...," Charlotte begins, shaking her head.

Kati would tell her if someone was being mean to her.

Wouldn't she?

"She's trying to solve it herself," Cooper realizes, looking at her.

Charlotte absorbs this as Mrs Lahiri gives a slight nod.

"I think so," she agrees. "I've never had Kati come up to me and say anything. She just always tries to ignore Raina's behaviour and keep playing with Axel or her other friends. And she never seems to get mad in response, either. She's a very laid-back child."

Cooper and Charlotte nod their agreement.

"Why do you think Raina doesn't like her?" Cooper asks.

"Little girls can be touchy," Mrs Lahiri replies with a shrug. "Raina's been jealous of Kati at times, and I think she's taking that feeling out on her by trying to single her out."

Cooper nods, thinking.

"You'll let us know if anything else happens," he says; less a question and more an instruction.

"Of course," Mrs Lahiri nods.

They finish up the interview, taking the report card that the teacher gives them, before Mrs Lahiri waves goodbye to Kati and the three of them head out of the classroom.

* * *

"Honey, how are things going at school?" Cooper asks, attempting to be nonchalant. "With friends, I mean."

"Good," Kati replies, as they walk in the front door and Charlotte helps her out of her coat.

"Yeah?" Cooper asks, hanging up his coat. "Because you can tell Mommy and me about anything, y'know?"

Kati nods as Cooper bends down to meet her eye level.

"Has anyone maybe been a little mean to you sometimes?" he asks, wanting Kati to say it herself.

She squirms a little, chewing her lip and avoiding her father's eyes. She's a terrible liar.

"Come here," Cooper says, taking her in his arms.

He carries her into the living room and sits her on the couch, Charlotte on one side of her and him on the other.

"Baby girl," Charlotte says softly, touching Kati's satin cheek. "How did you get that bruise? How did you fall?"

Kati looks down and then raises her ocean eyes to meet her mother's.

"Raina pushed me," she admits, her voice small.

"Honey, why didn't you say something?" Cooper asks, holding her tiny hand in his.

"No one likes a tattletale," she replies.

They frown, wondering where she heard that.

"Honey, it's not tattling if someone hurts you," Cooper tells her. "If Mrs Lahiri asks you if someone pushed you, you should tell the truth."

Kati squirms again.

"I think you're like your mama," Charlotte says softly. "You wanna solve things yourself."

Kati nods.

"That's fine, baby," Charlotte tells her. "But it's okay to ask for help, too, when you need it."

"I don't," Kati replies easily.

"Sweetie, it was wrong of her to push you," Cooper says firmly. "You could have gotten really hurt."

"You said sometimes when people are really mad, it's because they're just really sad," Kati replies, looking at Cooper.

He's not really surprised that she remembers this, regardless of how long ago he said it: she seems to be a sponge, soaking up everything she hears, sees or reads.

"I thought if she came to play, maybe it would cheer her up," Kati explains.

They smile in wonder, so proud of how sweet and kind their daughter is. They have a silent conversation, looking at each other over Kati's head.

"We need you to promise something, honey," Cooper says, looking Kati in the eye.

She looks at him expectantly.

"When someone hurts you, you tell us. Or your teacher, or whoever. And if someone's being mean to you or you have a bad day at school, you can come home and tell mommy and me all about it. Anything at all. Do you know that?"

Kati nods.

"How come you didn't say anything on Monday, when she pushed you?" Charlotte asks.

Kati shrugs. "By the time school was over I didn't really think about it. And it didn't hurt. I'm okay."

"Well, the point is that she pushed you. Do you understand?" she says.

"Yes," Kati replies quietly.

Cooper lifts her into his lap and hugs her, sitting her there and smiling.

"Also," he says. "A certain someone got straight A's on their report card, and deserves a reward, I think. Do you know anyone like that?"

"Me!" Kati giggles.

"Yes you," Charlotte grins, tickling her. "How about tomorrow after your playdate we go shopping?"

"Yeah!" Kati smiles, her eyes shining.

While Cooper takes Kati upstairs to get her ready for bed, Charlotte scoops the three of them some frozen yogurt and takes it to the couch so the three of them can watch a movie, which Kati will fall asleep during.

Silently muttering to herself in her head, Charlotte debates what she should say to Raina's mother tomorrow, when she brings her over for the playdate. Part of her wants to rip a strip off of her, and the other part of her knows she needs to be reasonable and figure out how they can get Raina to be nice to Kati.

* * *

While she and Cooper are crawling into bed later, she finally voices her thoughts out loud.

"I'm not even sure I want this little rugrat comin' over here," she mutters.

"She's just a little girl," Cooper says evenly. "Kati wants to solve her own problems, and if this is how she wants to go about it, then let's let her try. And we'll be here. Who knows, maybe things aren't so great at home, for Raina. Maybe she's acting out because of that."

"Still don't make it okay for her to go around pushing my child and sayin' rude things to her," Charlotte retorts.

"I know, honey," Cooper pulls her into his arms. "I'm with you. I'm just saying, let's see how tomorrow goes before you jump into the ring with a six-year-old."

"Very funny," Charlotte replies, rolling her eyes as she snuggles into the blankets.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hi," Charlotte smiles, opening the door to reveal a small blonde girl and her young mother. "Come on in."

She smiles, reminding herself to not judge this woman before she really knows her, as Raina and her mother enter the foyer.

"How are y'all doin'?" Charlotte asks, taking their jackets.

"Great, thanks," Raina's mother, Rhiannon, replies. They've only spoken on the phone, so this is the first time they've all met. "Thanks again for inviting Raina over today."

"Oh don't mention it," Cooper replies with a smile, after shaking her hand. "It's great to get the kids together. Kati loves having friends over."

"Raina, why don't you go play with Kati?" Rhiannon suggests, as Kati stands between her parents, a shy smile on her face.

It's quite obvious the two kids aren't friends; Raina doesn't look excited to be here and Kati is a bit nervous. Charlotte rubs her back comfortingly.

"Why don't you show Raina your toys?" she says.

"Come on," Kati says, gesturing towards the far corner of the living room where a toy chest and stray toys lie.

Raina follows Kati, and Cooper beckons Rhiannon to join him and Charlotte at the island in the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea? Water?" he asks, since Charlotte's in Mama Bear mode and isn't feeling as welcoming as Cooper. She may be a softie towards her daughter, but she's still Charlotte King. She still terrifies people with a look and exudes an air of confidence; a woman who doesn't take shit from people.

"Tea would be great," Rhiannon replies, taking a seat on one of the bar stools.

Charlotte glances over to the other side of the spacious living room. Kati and Raina are still quiet, examining the contents of Kati's toy chest.

"Do you guys live nearby?" Cooper asks, fishing a tea bag out of the cupboard.

"About 15 minutes, a bit closer to the school," Rhiannon replies politely.

"That drive can be a real pain in the ass in rush hour," Cooper says, careful to quieten the word he doesn't need Kati repeating.

Rhiannon laughs, and Cooper pushes the tea towards her, taking a seat across from her, beside Charlotte.

"Look," Rhiannon begins, looking nervous. "I'm really sorry about Raina. Mrs Lahiri told me that she's been mean to Kati, and I just want you both to know that I've talked to Raina, and I'm not taking any of it lightly."

Charlotte's surprised that Rhiannon brought it up first.

"Has she really hurt her?" Rhiannon asked, her forehead creased.

"There was a bruise from when she was pushed," Cooper replies.

Rhiannon rubs her forehead. Charlotte was half expecting this woman to jump on the defensive and duke it out with her.

"Has Kati done something to provoke Raina?" Cooper asks carefully. He knows his daughter did no such thing, but he wants to ease into the question of why Raina is so aggressive.

"No," Rhiannon replies, shaking her head. "No, not at all. It's…"

She glances over at her daughter, who is only now beginning to make conversation with Kati.

"Her father and I separated recently," Rhiannon admits. "I think this is just Raina's way of expressing how angry she is. She's a little jealous of Kati, and I guess she just picked her as her target."

"Well, we can't have my child comin' home with bruises again," Charlotte says firmly, but not unkind.

"I completely agree," Rhiannon assures her. "I'm trying, I'm just not sure exactly how to help her. A year ago she was the sweetest little girl, and now she's angry and bullying other kids. It's not how we raised her."

"Has she done anything else out of character?" Charlotte asks, curious.

"Just, normal angry kid behaviour, I guess," Rhiannon shrugs. "She snaps at me, she won't clean up her toys, she's…"

Careful that Raina won't hear her, she lowers her voice. "She's been wetting the bed. Which she never did before."

Cooper and Charlotte exchange glances.

"Have you talked to anybody?" Cooper asks.

"Just the counsellor at the school," Rhiannon answers.

Cooper fishes a card out of his pocket and hands it to Rhiannon.

"Here," he says kindly. "Bring her by the practice. Our friend Violet is a fantastic psychiatrist. I know she'd love to talk to Raina and do what she can to help."

"A shrink?" Rhiannon says, doubtful.

"I know, I know," Cooper replies with a grin. "But Violet's great. Don't think of it as a negative. Getting Raina some help is a strong move. It doesn't mean you're not good enough, it's just easier for some kids to talk to someone else."

Rhiannon nods and Charlotte's surprised to see that her eyes are glassy. This is going nothing like she thought it would.

"It'll be fine," Charlotte offers. She's not one to reach out and offer affection, but she's not one to ignore someone in pain either. "I used to be real skeptical about shrinks, too. Until I needed one."

Rhiannon considers this, glancing down at Cooper's business card.

"Thanks," she says after a moment, offering a small, grateful smile.

"Don't mention it," Cooper replies easily, and then moves the conversation to lighter topics.

Eventually, Kati and Raina abandon the array of toys they've spread out and come ask for a snack.

Charlotte sets them up at the table and the three of them go outside to show Rhiannon the backyard, when she asks about it. As Cooper smiles, showing her the view of the hills behind the house, they stand near the patio door. Charlotte can hear Kati and Raina in the kitchen, as they chat. She's glad that Raina isn't as tense anymore, and that she and Kati are getting along.

"Can you play the piano?" Raina asks, pointing at the piano in the living room.

"Mmhmm," Kati replies, her mouth full. "My daddy's teaching me."

Raina looks down at her plate. "My daddy's gone."

"Where did he go?" Kati asks, confused.

"I don't know," Raina replies, softer spoken and so different from the girl who arrived an hour ago. "He just left."

Charlotte glances over at them through the open door, just as Kati is frowning. She looks down at her plate and then picks up her cookie and reaches over to place it on Raina's plate.

Charlotte can feel her heart swell, and she wishes she could just run inside and pick Kati up and squeeze her. It's a small gesture, but for kids, it's huge. Raina looks up and offers Kati the first smile Charlotte's ever seen on her face.

* * *

Raina and her mother leave around 2:00, and Charlotte, Cooper and Kati head over to the practice. They end up there on some Saturdays, so they can finish up any paperwork that built up during the week. Since expanding the practice's hours to accommodate more clients, Naomi has opened the clinic up on Saturdays so all of them are there when the three of them arrive.

"What are you guys doing here?" Addison asks, smiling at Kati.

"Paperwork," Cooper replies, holding up his briefcase as he walks to his office.

"You too?" she asks Charlotte.

"Yep," she replies, holding Kati's hand as they walk to her office.

"Well let me take Kati off your hands," Addison offers, following them to Charlotte's door. "I've gotta run out for a bit. Kati can help me shop."

Charlotte looks down at Kati. "You wanna go with your auntie for a little bit?" she asks.

Kati smiles. "Yeah," she answers happily.

* * *

On Monday, Charlotte and Cooper drop Kati off at school and then head to the practice. At 10:30, the receptionist puts a call through to Charlotte.

"Dr Freedman?" Charlotte hears.

"Yes, this is she," Charlotte replies, sorting through a stack of papers.

"This is Michelle Briard," the woman says.

Charlotte stops paying attention to the papers and freezes. Ms Briard is the head of the Village School.

"Kati had an accident on the playground a few minutes ago," Ms Briard finishes.

"An accident? Is she alright?" Charlotte demands, already reaching for her bag and jacket.

"I'm afraid she may have broken her arm," Ms Briard says.

"Excuse me? How?" Charlotte says, leaving her office and knocking on the window the Cooper's.

He looks up and frowns, and she just gestures for him to come with her. He steps to the door and opens it.

"I have a patient," he says quietly.

"It's Kati," Charlotte replies, and starts for the elevator.

"We're not sure, exactly," Ms Briard responds. "No one saw what actually happened, but Kati fell from the playground."

"What do you mean, no one saw?" she clenches her jaw, punching the elevator button as Cooper explains to his patient's parents that he has an emergency and hurries after his wife.

"I'm sorry, Dr Freedman, I can explain everything when you get here," Ms Briard says politely.

"Where's Kati?" she snaps, now in the elevator.

"She's with the nurse," the woman replies.

Charlotte snaps her phone shut and exhales.

"What?" Cooper demands, his eyes wide and worried.

"Kati fell from the jungle gym," Charlotte replies, raising an eyebrow. "They think she broke her arm."

"What? Fell?" Cooper's brow creases and his worry climbs.

Charlotte shakes her head slowly, anger swelling inside her chest.

They reach the car and Charlotte gets in the driver's seat. Cooper usually drives, but he doesn't say anything; when Charlotte gets like this it's best to just let her do what she needs to do. So he buckles in, anxiety coursing through his veins as he exhales. The thought of Kati in pain makes him feel sick.

Charlotte sets her mouth in a firm line and pulls out of the parking lot. She drives faster than normal, and Cooper doesn't even think of telling her to slow down.


	18. Chapter 18

Charlotte throws the shift into park and she and Cooper are out and hurrying to the school entrance in seconds.

As a person who is not afraid to say exactly what is on her mind, she's learned over the years to keep her temper in check. Most of the time. But a lot of that self-control evaporated as soon as Kati came into the picture. There is no room for other people's negligence or mistakes when it comes to her daughter.

They dart down the hallway towards the main office, where the nurse has her office.

"Doctors," Michelle Briard turns her head as they rush inside.

Charlotte and Cooper ignore her and head for the nurse's room.

"She's being very brave," Ms Briard hurries to say, following them. "Hasn't even shed a tear!"

Cooper takes a minute to give Ms Briard a look before they push open the nurse's door.

Kati is sitting on the nurse's table. She looks even smaller than usual, and her face is stark white. She's clutching her left arm and as soon as she turns and sees her parents hurry towards her, her eyes begin to fill.

"Oh, baby," Charlotte breathes, hurrying over.

As soon as she's in her mother's arms, Kati starts to cry.

"It's okay," Cooper soothes, kissing her head. "Mama and Daddy are here."

She still refers to herself as "mama", even though Kati's accent is starting to fade and she's been calling her "mommy", too.

Charlotte takes Kati's face in her hands and meets her eyes, the sight of her in so much pain making her heart swell and her anger flare.

"What the hell happened?" she turns to the nurse and Ms Briard standing there.

"We're not-"

"Oh, wait. I remember this part," Charlotte snaps. "_No one saw_. Is no one keeping an eye on a playground full of children?"

Her eyes bore holes into theirs before she turns back to Kati, her cries softening into whimpers as her father examines her arm.

"Torus fracture of the distal radius," he says quietly to Charlotte, trying so hard to be gentle as Kati whimpers.

Charlotte bends to carefully look at Kati's swollen arm.

"Explain," Charlotte stands back up, facing the women. "Now."

"We understand how you must be feeling," Ms Briard begins.

"I didn't say talk about my feelings, I said explain what happened to my child!" Charlotte snaps.

"She was playing on the jungle gym with some of the other kids, and the next thing the playground supervisor saw was Kati hitting the ground.

"What other children," Charlotte asks, dangerously quiet.

"Um," Ms Briard says, obviously nervous by Charlotte, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket.

"Axel Mason, Raina Smith, Jordan Maxwell, Henry Anderson, and Jessica Radley," she replies.

Charlotte and Cooper meet each other's eyes.

"Honey, do you remember what happened at recess?" Cooper asks Kati gently.

Her big blue-green eyes are shiny and red, and her face is still too pale. Cooper's seen these kinds of breaks in children, and it's a testament to Kati's stubborn strength that she's not crying harder. He knows she's in a lot of pain.

"I fell," she almost whispers.

"All by yourself?" Charlotte asks.

Kati doesn't meet her eyes as she barely nods.

They both know she's lying; Kati's always been a terrible liar.

"I want to speak to Axel Mason," Charlotte barks. "Now."

Ms Briard walks quickly out of the room.

Charlotte carefully helps Kati get her right arm into her sweater, covering the left but not slipping it through the sleeve, for obvious reasons, as Cooper wraps the broken arm.

"We can get her to Ambrose in 15," she says quietly to Cooper.

He nods, double-checking Kati's arm to be sure that the sling he used from the first aid kit is keeping Kati's arm secure.

Moments later, Ms Briard returns with Axel. He looks upset, and when he sees Kati he hurries over.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly.

Kati, stubborn Kati, nods.

He reaches over and takes her free hand, and Cooper can't help but give a small smile at them.

"Axel, honey, I need to ask you somethin'," Charlotte begins, bending down so she's eye-level with him.

Axel's a good kid and he was raised by parents who are as involved and dedicated as Charlotte and Cooper are with Kati. She knows Jessica Mason wouldn't tolerate her children lying.

"When Kati fell off the jungle gym," Charlotte begins. "Did she fall all by herself?"

Axel keeps his bottle-green eyes on Charlotte's, not blinking as he slowly shakes his head.

Kati looks away from him, pushing her face into Cooper's shoulder.

"Do you know who pushed her?" Charlotte asks firmly.

Axel glances at Kati, and then up at Ms Briard for a moment before coming back to look at Charlotte.

"Raina," he replies, not afraid to tell the truth.

Charlotte's jaw clenches as she stands up and glares at Ms Briard.

"None of your supervisors happened to see my little girl get _shoved_ off of a jungle gym? This is completely unacceptable," she says sternly.

"Dr Freedman," Ms Briard begins.

"Save it," Charlotte snaps, gesturing to Cooper, who carefully stands up, cradling Kati. "I want that girl gone before somethin' worse happens."

"Expulsion is-"

"Is what?" Charlotte shoots back. "Besides completely reasonable, given the fact that she has physically assaulted my daughter. What has to happen for you to agree with me? You want my child breaking somethin' else next time? Maybe her neck? Will that shake some sense into you?"

They start for the door and Charlotte gives Ms Briard one last furious look.

"Either you do somethin' about this, or our lawyers will," she says.

* * *

"It's a clean break," Emily Brewster, Kati's paediatrician says, showing Charlotte and Cooper the X-rays. "I'll get a cast on it, and she's gonna heal just fine."

Charlotte runs a hand over Kati's dark hair as she lies on the hospital bed. Emily gave her something for the pain, so Kati's getting woozy.

"And you said someone pushed her?" Emily frowns at Cooper.

"Yeah," he replies, rubbing his forehead.

"Wouldn't happen to be the same girl who gave her that bruise on her back, would it?" Emily replies dryly.

"Yep," Cooper answers, angry.

"When did playgrounds become such a dangerous place?" Emily shakes her head, preparing to make Kati's cast. "You doing okay, honey?"

Kati nods. She's been pretty quiet ever since Charlotte and Cooper picked her up from the school.

"Well the good news," Emily begins, opening up a drawer. "Is that you get to pick what colour cast you get!"

Kati manages the first small smile she's given them all day. Emily holds out the coloured mesh.

"Purple," Kati replies quietly.

"I had a feeling you might say that," Emily winks.

She gets to work making the cast, as Kati sits with her parents. Emily is the only person, aside from him and Charlotte, that Cooper trusts to take the best care of his daughter. Obviously he trusts his friends with her, who are basically like family. But it's comforting to have a fellow paediatrician, and someone he's known since med school, taking care of her.

* * *

An hour later, Kati is snuggled into the couch at home, sleeping. The doorbell rings and Cooper opens it to find Violet, Pete and Addison.

"Hey guys," he smiles, not surprised. "Come on in."

"How is she?" Addison asks, holding a gift bag.

"Out cold," he replies, nodding towards the living room, where Charlotte is sitting with Kati, asleep on her lap.

"Poor baby," Addison frowns, eager to get her shoes off.

She goes into the living room while Violet and Pete talk with Cooper, slower to enter as he fills them in on what happened.

Addison goes and sits on the other side of Kati.

"Was it bad?" she asks Charlotte.

"Torus fractuce," Charlotte replies, as Addison reaches over to touch Kati's soft cheek. "Radius. Didn't shed a tear, until we got there."

"Well, she _is _her mother's daughter," Addison replies, flicking her eyebrows.

Charlotte chuckles. "That she is," and then nods towards the bag. "What other gifts have you brought to spoil her with?"

Addison sets the bag on the couch and peers inside, pulling out a stuffed giraffe.

"Oh, wow," Charlotte nods approvingly. "Auntie of the Year."

"I already am," Addison waves a hand dismissively. "I also brought her…"

She takes several items out as she names them.

"A bag of mini Snickers, a new colouring book, and…I saw this and had to get it because it's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen."

She holds up a little denim dress and Charlotte laughs.

"Add it to the endless supply of clothes you've already bought her," she replies.

Addison grins and sets the stuff aside as Pete and Violet come in with Cooper.

"How's the little champion doing?" Pete asks quietly. "Cooper said she barely cried."

"Not until we walked in the room," Charlotte replies, smiling down at her sleeping daughter.

"She's so pale," Violet says, her brow furrowed.

"Well, she's had a long day," Cooper sighs. "And she was pretty worked up about telling us about it. She tried to lie."

"About what?" Pete frowns.

"Kati? Lie? Yeah right," Violet adds.

"About how she fell," Charlotte replies, still sore about it. "She didn't go and fall all by herself. That evil little brat pushed her."

"Whoa," Violet raises her brow at Charlotte. "Evil?"

"It's the same little girl who shoved her before, and gave her that bruise on her back," Cooper explains. "She pushed Kati off the jungle gym. She tried to deny it, but Axel, thankfully, couldn't lie when put face-to-face with Charlotte."

"Who can?" Pete replies.

"Oh my god," Addison shakes her head, reaching out to hold Kati's other hand.

The doorbell rings and Cooper gets up, expecting to find Amelia or Naomi or someone. Instead, he opens the door and finds Rhiannon Smith.

"Rhiannon," Cooper says shortly, with a nod.

Charlotte looks over and carefully gets up, making sure to move Kati as little as possible despite how furious she is.

"I just wanted to come and make sure that Kati was okay," Rhiannon begins, but Charlotte reaches the door and steps in front of her, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at Rhiannon.

"Clean break in her arm," she bites. "You're lucky it wasn't her neck."

"Charlotte," Rhiannon starts, but Charlotte holds up a hand, stopping her.

"No," she says, dangerously quiet. "You have nothing to say that I want to hear. So you listen to _me. _I want Raina out of that school. You have to get that child under control before she does anything else to jeopardize my child, or someone else's. I am not above gettin' legal about this. I was willin' to overlook the bruise on her back, but she just put Kati in the hospital. Raina needs help, Rhiannon. And if you're not going to be the one to step up and take responsibility, and get that child away from mine, then we will."

Rhiannon's mouth has settled into a firm line. She looks sorry and angry.

"This is not up for discussion," Charlotte adds, as Violet carefully comes closer to the door.

"Hi," she says, getting their attention. "I'm Violet Turner."

She holds out a hand to Rhiannon, and she slowly takes it. "The shrink," she says, realizing she remembers the name Cooper told her.

"Why don't you bring Raina in to see me," Violet says evenly. "Maybe I can help."

Rhiannon looks embarrassed, glancing at Charlotte.

"That's really nice of you, but I think we're going to find…someone else," she replies.

Violet cocks her head and Rhiannon goes on.

"I'm sure you're great, it's just that Raina's caused a lot of trouble with the Freedmans already. I think it's best if we just remove her from…everything."

"I'm sure Cooper and Charlotte have no problem with you coming into the practice," Violet replies.

Cooper gives Rhiannon a tolerant look but Charlotte is still shooting daggers at her.

"No," Rhiannon repeats, shaking her head and taking a step back. "Thank you, but no. I just came here to apologize for Raina. And…I'm taking care of it. Raina won't hurt Kati again."

"You're damn right she won't," Charlotte replies angrily.

Before anyone can say anything else, Rhiannon turns and hurries away and Charlotte is already closing the door. Cooper looks at her.

"Don't you dare tell me you're not furious," she snaps.

"Of course I'm furious," he says. "But we're also talking about a six-year-old girl. Surely we can help her mother get her some help."

"I know how old she is," Charlotte replies. "And I also know this is the second time she's physically harmed our daughter, Cooper. Are you willing to overlook this, too, and wait for her shove her in front of oncoming traffic?"

"Charlotte," Cooper tilts his head, but Charlotte just gives him a look and turns to go back to Kati, now settled against Addison on the couch.

Cooper exhales and then gives Violet a sidelong look.

Violet just shrugs, patting his shoulder.

"Were you expecting something else?" she asks. "It's Charlotte, and it's Kati. I'm not about to cross her when she's in Mama Bear mode."

* * *

Charlotte keeps Kati home from school the next morning. She has patients in the afternoon, and Cooper is at the hospital all day, so she'll have to take Kati with her to the practice later.

She put Kati to bed around 8:00 PM, and it's almost 8:30 AM when she pads down the stairs the next morning.

"Hey, baby girl," Charlotte smiles, putting down her work on the kitchen table and getting up.

She bends down to lift Kati as she tiredly rubs her eye.

"Five-years-old and you're sleepin' like a teenager," Charlotte teases.

She presses her lips to Kati's forehead, using the moment to also test Kati's temperature. No fever. Thank god.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah," Kati murmurs, and rests her head against her mother's shoulder.

Charlotte carries her over to the counter and takes the Children's Tylenol, measuring a dose for Kati as she attempts to balance her with one arm.

Kati's almost too big for this. Charlotte's always been petite, and Kati is obviously taking after her, but she doesn't want to give up being able to hold her like this. She's too heavy to carry one-armed, so Charlotte sets her in a chair so she can take her medicine while Charlotte makes her some breakfast.

"Where's Daddy?" Kati asks, leaning her cheek against her palm as she sits at the table.

"Daddy has to work at the hospital today," Charlotte replies.

"When's he coming home?" she asks, her voice small.

Kati has always been independent, but when she's not feeling well she just wants to burrow into the couch with at least one of her parents.

"I'm not sure, baby," Charlotte replies, scrambling an egg for her. "It depends on how many kids need his help today."

She glances over and sees Kati running a finger over the purple mesh of her cast.

"How's your arm feeling?" she asks.

"Okay," Kati replies.

"I think we need to talk about what happened yesterday," Charlotte says, plating Kati's breakfast and then carrying it over to the table.

She sets it in front of Kati, who gingerly begins to poke at the eggs.

"Can you tell me why you lied to me and Daddy about what really happened on the jungle gym?" Charlotte asks.

Kati raises her big eyes to look at her mother, up through her eyelashes rather than lift her head. Sometimes Kati looks so much like her that it makes her stare.

"I don't know," Kati replies, placing a very small spoonful of eggs into her mouth.

She's nearly impossible to feed when she's not feeling well.

"Kati," Charlotte says, and Kati looks up. Her mother almost always calls her baby or sugar or something; she only calls her Kati when she's having a serious talk.

"I won't have you lyin' to me, or to Daddy," Charlotte raises her brow, but never raising her voice or getting angry at her. "Daddy and I trust you to tell us the truth, no matter what. Right?"

Kati nods unhappily.

"So please tell me why you lied yesterday," Charlotte repeats.

"I didn't want her to get mad," Kati replies, so quiet. "Or get sadder."

"Who? Raina?" Charlotte frowns.

When Kati nods, Charlotte exhales.

"Darlin', what's going on in Raina's life has nothin' to do with you. Why she chose you as her punching bag, I don't know. But what she's done is very, very wrong. You know that?"

Kati nods at the table top, so Charlotte gets out of her chair and bends in front of Kati so they're level.

"Baby, you are the sweetest little girl I have ever met, and I love that you have empathy for other people. Do you remember what empathy means?"

"Caring," Kati answers, her head tilted as she looks down at her cast, facing her mother.

"That's right, it means caring about and being able to understand how other people are feeling. And baby, you are so, so good at that. But when it comes to you being treated badly, the way Raina has treated you, you can't just pretend to ignore something you know is wrong. Okay?"

"She would have gotten mad at me," Kati says softly.

"That's Raina's problem," Charlotte replies. "And her mother's. It's not yours."

She holds onto Kati's right hand.

"I need you to promise me that you won't lie to me and Daddy again," she says sternly. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Kati replies quietly, making sure she looks her mother in the eye.

Charlotte holds out her pinkie and Kati links hers with it. Charlotte gives her an expectant look, and Kati knows the routine.

"I promise I won't lie," she states.

"Good girl," Charlotte says, leaning forward to kiss her and give her a hug.

She smiles at her. She hates when she has to get stern with Kati, but she won't stand for misbehaviour either. Kati knows this, and is typically a good kid who listens to her parents, and she never causes trouble. Charlotte doesn't want any bad behaviour to go unmentioned and unfixed.

* * *

"I can't come in today, Sherry," Charlotte says into the phone as she snuggles with Kati on the couch.

"Dr Freedman, I know Kati got hurt yesterday but I have no one else to call. You're chief of staff, and we've only got one of those," Sherry replies matter-of-factly.

Of course there has to be an emergency at Ambrose when she's got Kati to take care of and no Cooper to cover her absence.

She sighs, irritated. "Fine," she retorts. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

She hangs up and dials the practice.

When the receptionist answers, Charlotte cuts her off in the middle of her spiel.

"This is Dr Freedman," she says. "I need to know which doctors are at the practice today."

"Oh, hello Dr Freedman," the receptionist says politely. "Um, Violet, Sam, Naomi and Pete are here."

"Thank you," Charlotte says and then hangs up before the receptionist can say anything else. She dials the phone again.

"Hello," comes Addison's voice, in the middle of a laugh.

"Addison, it's me," Charlotte says. "I need a favour."

"What's wrong? Is Kati okay?" Addison demands, her happy tone replaced by a worried one.

"Ambrose is fallin' apart after 24 hours of me not bein' there," Charlotte replies, annoyed. "I've got Kati home from school, and-"

"I'll take her," Addison cuts her off.

"Are you sure you don't have plans?" Charlotte asks, saying it knowingly, because she heard someone's voice in the background.

"Yes, Kevin is here," Addison replies, rolling her eyes. "But he's leaving for his shift soon. And regardless, I'll take care of Kati."

"Thank you," Charlotte replies, grateful. "I'm sorry it's so last minute."

"Don't even worry about it," Addison replies. "Bring me that little peanut and go do what you've gotta do."

She gets off the phone and considers taking Kati upstairs to change her into some clothes that aren't pajamas.

"Oh, what the heck," Charlotte breathes to herself, getting up to throw together her briefcase. "Pajamas are just fine for today."

She runs upstairs, grabs Kati's favourite stuffed giraffe and the quilt that Bubbie made her that she loves, and then hurries out the door.

* * *

"I'm not sure how long I'll be, but Cooper's-"

"Don't worry," Addison cuts her off with a understanding smile. "I _have _taken care of Kati before, Charlotte."

"Well I've never dumped her on your lap last minute, when you have plans for a day off," Charlotte counters, walking into Addison's house with Kati.

"I'm more than happy to have her," Addison replies, following Charlotte to the couch where she sets Kati and makes sure she has her giraffe and blanket.

Charlotte kisses Kati. "I love you. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Kati nods and Charlotte heads for the door again, with Addison by her side. She starts to open her mouth, but Addison stops her, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking her in the eye.

"I have your cell numbers, your practice numbers and your personal numbers at Ambrose," she says. "I'm a double-board-certified, world-class surgeon, and an OB/GYN who is constantly delivering and saving the lives of tiny little babies. Kati is in great hands."

"I wasn't about to question your abilities, Montgomery," Charlotte rolls her eyes, but she's grateful.

"Yeah right, King," Addison replies, using their old terms for each other, before they were friends. "Now go. Don't worry. Do what you gotta do, and we'll see you later."

"She might be hungry soon," Charlotte says, stepping into her shoes. "But gettin' her to actually eat somethin' is damn near impossible."

"I'll just feed her Oreos and ice cream," Addison replies with a dismissive wave.

Charlotte stops and gives her a dead stare, forcing Addison to laugh. Charlotte keeps Kati's sugar intake to a minimum. She and Cooper are adamant about her diet being as healthy as possible.

"I'm kidding!" Addison rolls her eyes, holding onto the door as Charlotte turns and steps outside. "I've got plenty of stuff here that she loves. I can make her a smoothie or a sandwich or something."

Charlotte sighs, annoyed that she has to leave her child who doesn't feel well, and wondering what kind of mayhem she's on her way to control.

"Thank you," she says, giving Addison a small, grateful smile.

"Don't mention it," Addison replies, stepping back so she can close the door.

Reluctantly, Charlotte turns and heads back to her car.


	19. Chapter 19

Addison walks back to the living room, where Kati is nestled into the corner of the couch.

"Hey honey," she smiles, sitting down beside her. "How're you doing?"

"Good," Kati replies, giving her a smile.

"Good," Addison smiles, tucking a lock of dark hair behind Kati's ear. "I was gonna make some lunch…. Do you wanna come help me?"

Kati nods and slowly climbs off the couch, taking Addison's hand as they go to the kitchen.

"Alright," Addison breathes, lifting Kati to sit on the island. "What should we have?"

Kati shrugs, swinging her pajama-clad legs.

"Do you want…a sandwich?"

Kati shakes her head.

"Macaroni?"

Kati shakes her head.

"Worms from the garden?"

Kati giggles. "Ew. You can't eat worms."

"Some people do," Addison replies with a shrug.

Kati shakes her head.

"How about _carrots _from the garden?"

Kati thinks and then nods. Addison knows she loves to eat carrots just pulled from the soil. Cooper usually insists on scrubbing them clean, but she knows that Kati likes them with the tiniest bit of dirt still dusting them. Besides, Cooper doesn't have to know.

She lifts Kati and carries her outside, to the deck. Addison herself can't keep a cactus alive, let alone a garden, so she has a gardener come and tend to the small garden she's growing on the grass beside her deck.

They pick through the raspberry bushes and the carrot tops, pulling ripe produce and popping it into their mouths.

Addison used to love doing this with her nanny, when she was a little girl. Anna would take her out into the large garden outside their Connecticut mansion, and let her pull the carrots up, and pluck the raspberries and strawberries, and pop open the fresh peas. Bizzy would have been furious if she knew; Addison was supposed to be clean and proper and perfect. It was hers and Anna's secret that she got to sneak out to the garden and get dirty and not care.

She loves that she gets to share this with Kati now. Even if she can't seem to have a baby of her own, having Kati around makes her happy.

When they've pulled up all of the good carrots and Kati can't find anymore ripe raspberries, they go back inside and Addison helps Kati wash off her hand. The left one she's been holding back, not even attempting to use it.

"Does your arm hurt, sweetie?" Addison asks, drying Kati's hand.

Kati shrugs. "It's okay."

"You're just like your mom, you know that?"

"I love Mommy," Kati replies, as Addison lifts her down from the counter.

"I love your mommy, too," Addison replies. "Even when she's scary."

Kati giggles and they go back into the living room, where Addison pulls out the colouring books and the pencil case full of crayons that she keeps for Kati.

As Kati starts to colour, Addison digs through the bag Charlotte brought and finds Kati's tylenol. She measures out the right dosage and gives it to her.

"That must have been scary, falling off the jungle gym," Addison says conversationally, colouring a picture of a dinosaur. Leave it to Kati to prefer colouring pictures of dinosaurs and superheroes, rather than princesses.

Kati nods, replacing her orange crayon with a green one.

"I'm okay now," she says.

"Yeah," Addison replies. "You're a tough cookie."

After a moment Kati stops colouring.

"How come some daddies go away?"

Addison frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Raina's daddy went away," Kati replies, back to colouring. "That's why she's so sad."

"Oh," Addison says, surprised. "I don't know, honey. Sometimes people make bad decisions. Y'know, like Raina pushing you, or her dad leaving, or saying mean things."

"Like when Daddy tells Mama that she was wrong at work and he has to sleep on the couch?"

Addison tries to hide a grin. "Yes," she nods. "Like that."

"Where's your daddy?" Kati asks curiously, looking up at her.

"He lives in New York," Addison replies. "He's a doctor, too."

"Does he help babies too?"

"No, he teaches people how to be doctors," Addison replies.

Kati considers this, chewing her bottom lip.

"I think it would be more fun to be a doctor," she says.

"I hear ya, honey," Addison nods.

They continue colouring until Kati starts to get tired. She stopped taking naps a long time ago, but Addison can see that she's exhausted.

"How about a movie?" she asks, and Kati nods, abandoning the crayons to climb back onto the couch.

"What should we watch?" Addison asks, clicking on the TV and searching Pay Per View.

Kati shrugs, burrowing into the blanket and clutching her giraffe.

Addison finds a cartoon that Kati likes and starts the movie, even though Kati's eyes are starting to close.

Half an hour into the movie, Addison jolts awake. She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep, but she can hear someone rattling the front door. Her heart starts to beat a little faster. Charlotte or Cooper would ring the doorbell, or knock. Whoever is out there is trying to open the door.

She looks over at Kati, fast asleep, and slowly gets up.

Tiptoeing, she goes towards the door. She tries to look out the top window, but she can't see anyone. Someone is still trying to open the door. She can hear the clicking and see it moving.

Slowly, she moves her hand towards the knob. She looks back, making sure Kati is safe and asleep. With the other hand, she reaches up and finds the little bottle of pepper spray that Kevin makes her keep up on a shelf.

She takes a deep breath and throws open the door, her arm shooting forward, holding the pepper spray.

"Whoa!" a man yells, jumping up from his crouched position. "Addi! It's me!"

Addison's brow furrows and her heart beats wildly, and a familiar face comes into focus.

"Archer!?" she says, confused.

"Can we just, put aside the pepper spray," he says, reaching out to remove the bottle from his sister's hand.

"What are you doing here? And why are you breaking into my house?" Addison demands, seeing the bobby pin and credit card in his hand.

"Well you don't seem to answer the doorbell anymore," Archer replies.

"I didn't hear it," she replies, glancing down to see a suitcase. "Why are you here? What did you do?"

"I show up to see my little sister and it means I've done something wrong?" he frowns, holding his palms upwards.

Addison just raises her eyebrow in response.

Archer sighs. "I had to get out of New York," he confesses. "We all thought you were insane for moving out here, but somehow you've ended up the happiest Montgomery in the family, so…. I figured I'd try it out."

"_I'm _the happiest Montgomery?" Addison says dryly, moving aside so Archer can come inside. "Please. I'm a lonely, divorced, barren woman living alone."

Archer shakes his head, setting down his suitcase and taking off his jacket.

"Were you sleeping?" he asks, taking in her slightly messy hair and yoga pants.

"Yes," she replies, glancing towards the couch. "And you need to be quiet."

Archer frowns, looking around.

"You got a guy here? Don't tell me you're still dating the cop," he tilts his head.

"Kati's here," she replies, giving him an unimpressed look.

"Kati?" Archer mumbles, trying to place the name.

"Adorable five-year-old, big eyes, perfect smile, amazing child," Addison says, jogging his memory.

"Oh, Charlotte's kid," he says. "She's five?"

"Do you pay attention to anyone's life but your own?" Addison asks, shaking her head and closing the front door, locking it again.

Archer ignores the comment and walks towards the kitchen and living room area.

"Five-year-olds nap?" he asks in response.

"Tired and slightly traumatized five-year-olds that just broke their arm nap, yes," Addison replies, nudging him towards the kitchen.

Archer lets her push him, peering at Kati as he passes the couch.

"She's gonna be a looker, just like her mom," Archer grins mischievously.

"Shut up," Addison frowns. "And do not talk about Charlotte like that. Around anyone, but especially Kati. Or Cooper. The last thing he needs is you waltzing into his life and reminding him that you slept with his wife."

"She wasn't his wife at the time," Archer points out.

"Arrogance should have an expiration date," Addison shakes her head, already annoyed by her brother.

Archer is, as always, undeterred by someone pointing out his obnoxious ways.

"So what are you, the nanny?" Archer asks, searching through Addison's fridge.

"The auntie," Addison replies. "One of several, actually. I just happen to be her favourite."

"Did she tell you that, or are you just hoping?" Archer asks.

Addison shoves him as he pulls sandwich stuff out of the fridge, and he just chuckles to himself.

"Why are you here?" she asks.

"I told you," Archer replies.

"No, you made some bullshit excuse, trying to cover up the real reason why you're here," Addison corrects him.

Archer exhales, spreading mayo on a slice of bread.

"I came to talk to you," he admits.

"There's this incredible thing called a telephone, now," Addison replies. "You can literally talk to anyone on the planet, from anywhere."

"Ha ha," Archer gives her a look, licking some mayo off his thumb.

"So aside from no telephones, is there also no food in New York?" she asks as he piles turkey onto the bread.

"You know how I feel about airplane food," Archer replies.

Addison just nods, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, seriously, you're just annoying me now. Why are you here?"

He finishes assembling his sandwich and then hops up onto the counter, taking a bite.

"Bizzy found out," he replies.

Addison doesn't need any hints as to what this means. Her eyes widen and she stares at her brother.

"Bizzy _found out_?" she says in disbelief.

"Bizzy found out," Archer repeats, nodding as he takes another bite.

"Oh jesus," Addison says, her hand coming to cup her forehead. "How?"

"I think part of her knew all along," Archer replies with a shrug. "But she saw him, at a restaurant by the university, with some pair of legs in a miniskirt."

"He always did have a thing for miniskirts," Addison sighs, shaking her head as she leans against the island, across from Archer.

Her mother knows. After years of having affairs, her father, the Captain, has been caught.

"What…did she do?" Addison asks.

Archer shrugs, not seeming too worried about any of this. "Actually, she didn't seem to care."

"Makes sense, I guess," she says quietly. "If she already kind of knew."

Archer just continues to eat his sandwich.

"Okay, so you came all the way across the country to tell me that our father's years and years of adultery has been uncovered and our mother's response is that she doesn't care?"

"Kind of," Archer replies, hopping down and opening the fridge again.

He pulls out a beer.

"Please," Addison says, gesturing with her hand. "Help yourself."

"Bizzy's seeing someone else, too," Archer reveals.

Addison stares at him, truly surprised.

"Since when?" she asks.

Archer's arrogance seems to fade a little bit, and he sets down the beer before turning to face her again.

"Apparently since we were teenagers," he says.

Puzzled, Addison tries to make sense of this.

"What?" she frowns. "Who?"

Archer makes eye contact with her and a moment later responds. "Susan," he says.

Addison must have heard wrong.

"You can't be serious," Addison tilts her head.

"I can," Archer replies. "I try not to be, but I am capable of it."

Addison shakes her head, trying to wrap it around this information.

"Bizzy," she says, her brow furrowed. "Is a lesbian."

Archer nods, going back to his sandwich.

"Our mother," Addison says.

Archer nods, letting this sink in. He had the same reaction, but that was two days ago. He's had time to process it a bit more, but it still sounds unbelievable to him.

"And the Captain," Addison goes on. "Knows. And Bizzy knows about his affairs."

"Yes," Archer nods again.

"And our mother is gay."

Addison's face is a permanent confused frown. The doorbell rings, but she just stands there.

"You gonna answer that?" Archer juts his thumb towards the front door.

When Addison doesn't respond, he gets up and goes to answer the door himself.

When he opens the door and sees who is on the other side, a wide smile curves across his face.

Charlotte, on the other hand, raises her brow in distaste.

"Charlotte," he says, ready to flirt.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" she asks, arms folded across her chest.

"Aw, it's good to see you too," he grins, spreading his arms for a hug.

Charlotte pushes a hand against his chest, shoving him aside.

"Get real, Archer," she replies, annoyed.

She walks inside and finds Addison standing in the kitchen.

"Please tell me you did not subject my innocent child to this sorry excuse for a man?" she raises her brow at Archer as he passes.

Addison is still frowning, trying to absorb the information she just learned.

"Addison," Charlotte says, looking at her.

"What?" Addison snaps out of it. "Oh, no. She's fine. She's great. She's been asleep for the last hour or so."

Confused, Charlotte looks from Archer to Addison.

"Oh what did he do?" she asks, tilting her head and folding her arms again.

"Nothing," Addison shakes her head, but Charlotte can see that she's baffled.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asks, reaching her hand out to hold Addison's arm.

"Nothing," Addison repeats, working to come across as okay. "Really."

She walks over to the couch and peers at Kati.

"She was great," she tells Charlotte. "She coloured, and um, she, uh, I got her to eat some fruit and some carrots, and uh."

She rubs her forehead, looking around.

"Yeah. She's all good," she says.

"What is goin' on with you?" Charlotte asks firmly.

Addison opens and closes her mouth, and then looks at Archer; at a loss. Archer meets her gaze and then looks back to Charlotte.

"Our parents have both been having affairs for the last 20 years," he replies. "They both just found out about each other, and our mother is gay."

Charlotte keeps a calm face, listening.

"I thought y'all knew about your daddy bein' a man whore?" she says plainly.

"We did," Archer nods. "Bizzy didn't. And the Captain didn't know about…her."

"Oh," Charlotte says, raising her brow. "Well."

She looks at Addison, who is finally making eye contact and not just staring off into nothing.

"What do you need?" Charlotte asks matter-of-factly.

"Nothing," Addison shakes her head. "I just need…to think."

Charlotte searches her face and then looks at Archer, distaste all over her face.

"You just carry misery around with you, don't ya?" she says dryly.

She walks over to the couch and swings Kati's bag over her shoulder, before carefully bending to lift up her daughter. Sleepy, Kati barely stirs, resting her head against Charlotte's shoulder.

"I'll be callin' later, to make sure you're alright," she says to Addison, giving her a serious look.

"I'm fine," Addison says, offering a fake smile.

"You are not," Charlotte replies knowingly.

She turns to Archer.

"Try to put your sister's feelings before your own for a change?" she says.

"That's why I'm here," Archer replies, spreading his arms out around him.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, looking back to Addison.

"Addison," she says, making her meet her eyes.

"Thanks, really, but I'll be fine. It's just…a lot to…process. Or something," she says slowly.

"Like I said," Charlotte repeats. "I'll be callin' later."


	20. Chapter 20

Addison doesn't answer her phone when Charlotte calls. Three times.

So Charlotte gives Kati her bath and gets her into her pyjamas, and then brings her downstairs to play for an hour before bed. She's sprawled on the carpet, colouring an anatomy colouring book that she picked out herself, bringing such a look of glee to Cooper's face that Charlotte thought his face was going to crack apart.

Someone knocks and Charlotte gets up from the carpet, abandoning the skeletal system she and Kati are colouring, so she can answer the door.

Addison is on the doorstep, dressed in her old Yale sweatshirt and the same pair of yoga pants.

"Addison," Charlotte says, eyeing her carefully. "I've been callin' you for an hour."

She looks so dejected that Charlotte just stands aside, and Addison walks inside.

"My mother," she says loudly, emotion starting to rise. "Is a _lesbian_."

Charlotte tilts her head and looks over to the living room, and Addison follows her eyes to see Kati, now staring at both of them curiously.

"What's a lesbinan?" she asks.

Addison and Charlotte look at each other. Addison tries to convey her apology but Charlotte just waves it off, not angry.

"Lesbian, sugar," Charlotte corrects her, going to sit on the couch and beckoning Kati over as Addison sits too.

"What's a lesbian?" Kati repeats, getting up and coming over.

"Well," Charlotte begins, hoisting Kati up onto her lap, facing Addison. "A lesbian is a woman who likes other women."

"You like auntie Addison," Kati replies slowly. "Are you lesbians?"

"No," Charlotte replies, deciding how to word this. She and Cooper promised they'd never lie to Kati in response to her endless questions. "You know how mommies and daddies love each other, and get married?"

Kati nods, glancing at Addison.

"Well lesbians are women who love other women. Like mommies and daddies do."

"Oh," Kati understands, but her brow furrows as she takes in Addison's distressed face. "So they love each other, and they want to get married and be mommies together?"

"Yeah," Charlotte shrugs. "Somethin' like that. And sometimes men love other men, and they get together, too. It's called being gay."

"Why are you so sad, then" Kati looks at Addison. "It's good to love."

Charlotte turns to look at Addison, her brow slightly raised and a hidden smile playing across her lips as though asking Addison to answer _that_.

Addison stops, looking into Kati's eyes.

"It _is _good to love, honey," Addison replies, rubbing her forehead. "I just…"

She doesn't know what to say, so she chews her lip.

"I'm just a little surprised to learn that about my mother," she explains. "I…I didn't know it before."

"Does she love another lesbian?" Kati asks curiously. When she learns a new word, she likes to try it out.

"Well," Addison begins, looking to Charlotte. But Charlotte doesn't offer any help here; she wants Addison to talk, and if her five-year-old daughter can get her to do that, then she's just fine sitting here and listening. "Yes."

"Then you shouldn't be sad," Kati says matter-of-factly.

She climbs down from her mother's lap, gives Addison a peck on the cheek, and goes back to her colouring.

Silenced, Addison just watches as Kati sprawls out on the carpet again and carries on like normal. She looks over at Charlotte, who just raises her brow, pleased. Addison raises a hand and lets it fall back onto her lap.

"She's got a point," Charlotte says.

"It's not that simple," Addison says, frustrated with the confusion of learning all of this.

"Look," Charlotte says, placing a hand on Addison's clenched fists. "I'm not sayin' it's that simple to accept. I should like to think it's about as easy as puttin' together a jigsaw puzzle with a blindfold on. But it _is _gonna be okay. It's normal."

"I know it's _normal_," Addison frowns, shaking her head as she rubs her forehead. "What's _not _normal is trying to accept the fact that my entire childhood, was a lie."

Charlotte tilts her head, so Addison goes on.

"Seriously! I grew up _knowing _that my father was cheating, and I always used to think that Bizzy was this sad, pathetic wife, and now…now it's like _he's _the pathetic one! _He _was sleeping with other women _because _of her. And the entire time, for 20 years, she's been in love with someone else! Someone that I _know, _and knows my entire family and was always around and…it's all a lie!"

"Addison," Charlotte says calmly, waiting until Addison looks at her. "Nothing is ever as it seems. I'm sure Bizzy was doing what she thought was best, for you and Archer. I mean, can you imagine what it was like for her? To hide who she really was, for so long?"

Addison exhales, leaning back against the couch as she chews her thumbnail.

"I just…" she shakes her head. "I don't know."

"She's still your mother," Charlotte says, raising her brow at Addison. "She loves you. As best as she can, I mean. I remember she's not exactly the most maternal woman on the planet. But she does love you. And she was trying to protect you, regardless of whether you can see it that way or not."

Addison sighs, her mind still reeling. She watches as Kati turns a page in her huge colouring book and keeps colouring.

"Just try to see it from her side," Charlotte offers. "And remember that everyone's got a whole closet full'a skeletons within their family. _Everyone_."

"_You _guys don't," she replies, watching Kati.

"Are you kiddin' me, Montgomery?" Charlotte says, sitting up straighter and looking at her with amusement. "I've got a mama who don't know a thing about me, and who used a slew of housekeepers and nannies to raise her three children. I've got two brothers who I had to look out for, and now I never see because Kings don't show their feelin's, so keepin' in touch doesn't exactly come naturally. I've got just as many problems as the next person."

Addison exhales deeply, knowing she's right but still at a loss as to how to deal with all of this.

They sit there for a moment in silence as Addison stares at Kati colouring.

"Is she colouring an anatomical diagram of a _heart_?" Addison's brow furrows, and she turns to stare at Charlotte.

"What?" Charlotte replies, holding up her hands. "She picked it out herself."

Addison starts to smile, and it turns into a chuckle. And it feels so good, to laugh.

Charlotte grins and pats her leg as she gets up from the couch.

"Why don't you get in there with her? It's surprisingly relaxin'," she says, heading into the kitchen.

So Addison gets up and slowly wanders over to Kati's spot on the floor, getting down to sit with her.

"Can I help?" she asks Kati.

Kati grins and holds out a red crayon.

"You can colour the ventricles," Kati says, almost mispronouncing the big word.

She goes back to colouring and Addison stares at her, crayon in hand. Charlotte comes back with two tumblers, grinning as she sees the two of them.

"Seriously?" Addison says, gesturing towards Kati and the colouring book.

Charlotte chuckles and hands her one of the glasses. Grateful, Addison takes it and has a drink.

"Jesus," she says under her breath, surprised by the strength of the gin.

"It's been a big night," Charlotte explains with a shrug, getting on the floor and taking a crayon. "I figured doubles were the way to go."

* * *

The next day Charlotte and Cooper take Kati with them to the practice. There's no school today.

Amelia, Naomi, Sam and Violet are in the kitchen, so Cooper sets Kati up with her backpack full of stuff at the table.

They make a fuss over her, asking to sign her cast, as they sip their coffee and chat.

"Where's Addison?" Amelia asks after signing the cast. "It's almost 10:00. She's never late."

"She had a late night," Charlotte replies, not offering anything else.

"A late night?" Amelia repeats, raising her eyebrows. "What, did she meet some guy and take him home?"

Charlotte elbows her in the ribs, silently reminding her to watch her mouth around Kati.

"No," Charlotte says. "She was just up late."

"Her mommy's a lesbian," Kati says simply, examining the giraffe that Sam just drew on her cast.

Everyone stops and looks at her, and then collectively, they turn to look at Charlotte.

She can't be mad at Kati; she doesn't know any better. She just sets her mouth in a slight smile.

"Let's just let Addison's business be Addison's business," she says.

"Bizzy's _gay_?" Naomi stares.

They turn and see that Addison has just entered the kitchen.

"Hey," Naomi says, surprised and unsure about what to do.

"You told them?" Addison looks at Charlotte.

"Actually Kati did," Amelia says, saving Charlotte from taking the blame for Kati, which she was about to do.

"Oh," Addison says, her annoyance fading. She glances at Kati and smiles at her, not about to get angry at a little girl. "Well. Then yes."

She lifts and drops her hands, at a loss.

"Yes. My mother is gay," she says.

Everyone is quiet, and Addison takes a deep breath.

"I'm…going out for coffee," she suddenly says, turning and leaving quickly.

"We just…got a new espresso machine," Amelia juts her thumb towards the machine on the counter.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, kissing Kati as she turns to leave the kitchen.

"I don't think it's about the coffee," Sam says to Amelia, as he follows Charlotte.

* * *

On Monday, Charlotte and Cooper take Kati back to school. Ms Briard called the practice on Friday, but Charlotte chose to ignore her calls. If she has something to say, she can say it to her face.

They take Kati to the office, rather than directly to her classroom.

"Dr Freedman," the secretary says, smiling pleasantly. "Dr Freedman," she repeats, nodding at Cooper.

"I'd like to speak to Ms Briard," Charlotte says, all business.

"Certainly," the secretary says, getting up.

A moment later she comes back and leads them to the head office.

"Please," Ms Briard smiles, gesturing to the seats in front of her desk. "Have a seat."

They sit down and Cooper sets Kati on his lap.

"Kati, how are you feeling?" she asks, smiling.

"Fine, thank you," Kati replies politely.

"Good," Ms Briard smiles.

She folds her arms in front of her on the desk.

"Well, I think you'll both be relieved to learn that Mrs Smith withdrew Raina from the school on Thursday."

"Good," Charlotte nods.

"I also want to assure you that playground supervisors do their best to diligently watch recess activities," Ms Briard goes on.

"Well," Charlotte chuckles, not amused. "If that were true, my child wouldn't have a broken arm, would she?"

Ms Briard smiles politely, taking the hit. "And we've increased the number of supervisors for the playground," she finishes.

Charlotte and Cooper nod.

"I think that's great," Cooper says.

Ms Briard smiles, nodding again.

Charlotte moves to stand up, so Ms Briard follows suit and Cooper stands, lifting Kati.

"Kati is in very good hands, doctors," she says then. "We take any and every incident very seriously, and the wellbeing of Kati, and all of our students, is our main concern."

"Then I expect we shouldn't be seeing you again anytime soon," Charlotte smiles placidly, and then turns on her heel and leaves the room.

Cooper offers her an appreciative nod and follows his wife.

"Jeez," he says quietly, once they leave the office. "Did you have to terrify her?"

"Oh please, Cooper," Charlotte replies, turning the corner towards Kati's classroom. "If she can't take the heat…"

Cooper nods, smiling, amused.

They reach Kati's classroom and find Jessica Mason, there to drop off Axel as well.

"Charlotte," she smiles. "Cooper."

She finishes helping Axel out of his coat and stands up.

"And Kati," she says. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"Fine," she smiles, squirming so her father will put her down. "Thank you."

She smiles at Jessica and then takes off to hurry after Axel and Henry.

"Bye," Cooper says, even though Kati's already disappeared into the classroom.

He looks back to Jessica and Charlotte and drops his hand.

"Hurts, huh?" Jessica says, understanding. "When they don't need you as much?"

"I'm definitely not a fan of it," Cooper replies.

"How's Kati doing?" Jessica asks, concerned.

"She's great," Charlotte smiles. "Cast should be off in about five weeks."

"I'm so glad it wasn't worse," Jessica says, shaking her head. "You should know that several other parents complained about Raina, as well. After they heard about Kati, they all wanted her removed from class."

"She's a very troubled little girl," Charlotte replies, still angry at the thought of everything. "Her mother needs to get her some help."

"I agree," Jessica nods. "I'm just sorry it took Kati breaking a bone for some real action to be taken."

"She's a trooper," Cooper smiles.

"She is," Jessica says. "Axel just loves her. Not many girls want to play with the boys."

The rest of the kids filter into the classroom, so Charlotte and Cooper say goodbye to Jessica and head off to work.


	21. Chapter 21

At seven years old, Kati was placed in a daily two-hour-long class with other children who were achieving higher than average marks. At the end of the school year, Kati was given an IQ test.

Three days later, Ms Briard called Charlotte and Cooper and set up a meeting.

Since the debacle with Raina Smith years ago, Charlotte has managed to let go of her anger towards the woman and is able to get along with her. They arrive at the school a little while before Kati is scheduled to be let out for summer vacation.

"Doctors, please, have a seat," Michelle Briard smiles, gesturing to the seats in front of her desk.

"Thanks," they say, sitting down.

"So," Michelle smiles at them, opening a file and taking out several documents. "As you know, Kati took an IQ test several days ago. I called you both in here today to discuss her results."

"Is someone wrong?" Cooper frowns.

"Oh, no," Michelle laughs. "The opposite, actually."

She places Kati's scores in front of them.

"Holy sh-" Cooper says, as he and Charlotte read. "152?"

"She's an exceptionally bright student," Michelle smiles, pleased by their response.

"Well, yes," Charlotte says, reading. "We all knew that. She's been readin' since she was four, and plays the piano like it's nothin' to her."

"This is incredible," Cooper laughs, looking over at Charlotte and then back at the scores.

"It is," Michelle nods. "Kati's potential is limitless. We want to do everything we can to help her reach it, and to set forth the kinds of challenges that keep her interested. As you recall, last year Mr Reynolds was concerned about Kati's ability to pay attention in class. And once we realized that she was just bored, we got her in to the academic challenge program. But I think we need to consider all possible routes, here."

"Like what?" Cooper asks. "Whatever it takes to help her succeed, we'll do it."

"Well, I know we talked about this last year, as well," Michelle goes on. "About bumping Kati up a grade. And you were worried about her age and her ability to relate to older students. But in reality, bumping her up a year wouldn't be that big of a change for her. Especially at this age. Kati's a wonderful girl and she has lots of friends. Fitting into a new peer group would be a change, but one that I'm sure she could settle into."

"You want to push her ahead a year," Charlotte says.

"Yes," Michelle nods. "And yes, it will put her a year behind in age. She'll be 17 when she graduates, but that also means she'll get an early start to college."

"Skip the third grade," Cooper mumbles, again looking down at Kati's test scores with pride.

"Is that common?" Charlotte asks. "I mean, Kati's made so many friends in her grade. Will she have other kids around who are a little younger, too?"

"Actually, there are two other children who are being bumped up," Michelle replies.

"Two?" Cooper raises his brow.

Michelle smiles and nods.

"Let me just explain what I was thinking. We have a class that is actually a grade 3/4 split. Students who are technically in grades two and three, but are able to be in a higher grade. So they're skipping a grade, but not thrown into a totally strange environment. She'd be with other kids who are excelling. It's like AP classes in high school. It's just an elementary-school version."

Cooper and Charlotte exchanges looks. They have a silent conversation.

"Why don't you talk to Kati about it. I'm here for the next week, and then the school will be closed for the summer. We can get everything ready before then."

They move to stand up, reaching out to shake Michelle's hand.

"Thank you," they smile, and head out into the hallway as the bell rings, signalling the end of the last day of school.

Cooper squeezes Charlotte's hand and they look at each other and then start laughing, so thrilled. Charlotte leans up to kiss him.

"Our baby's a genius," she grins, excited.

"Well, we already knew that," Cooper smiles. "But wow. A hundred and fifty-two. I mean…I don't even think mine is that high."

"We have to do it," Charlotte says, as they turn towards Kati's classroom. "I mean I know we were worried before about her bein' so young, but the idea of her bein' able to start college at 17?"

"I know," Cooper nods, "There are pros and cons, but…I think you're right. I think we should just let her sail over the third grade and go right into fourth."

They grin again, eager to get to Kati and hug her.

They find her leaving her classroom with Axel. The two of them have been inseparable since kindergarten. In the last two years, Kati's lost the bit of baby fat she had, making her large blue-green eyes look even bigger. She's happy, always smiling, she has lots of friends, and she's everything Charlotte and Cooper could ever want.

"Hey, baby," Charlotte smiles, waving as Kati sees them.

She hurries over and jumps into her father's arms.

"You're free!" he squeezes her. "Summer vacation has arrived!"

Kati giggles as he tickles her.

"You excited?" Charlotte asks, running a hand over her hair as Cooper sets her down.

"Yeah," Kati nods. "I can't wait to go see Grandma and Big Daddy. And Axel's birthday is right before we leave!"

"I know," Charlotte smiles, as the three of them head towards the exit. "Pretty exciting summer, huh?"

* * *

"Honey, we wanted to talk to you about something," Cooper says, as they get home and Kati hurries inside, heading for the fridge.

"About what?" she asks, pulling out a juice box and spearing the straw in.

"About," Cooper starts, lifting her so she's sitting on the island in front of them. "School."

"School's over," Kati replies.

"Yes," Cooper nods. "I mean school in September."

"Remember that test you took on Monday?" Charlotte asks.

"Yeah," Kati says. "The IQ test."

"Right," Charlotte nods. "Well, your scores were just…incredible."

"Did I get an A+?" she asks.

They both grin.

"Kind of," Cooper replies. "Hold on."

He hurries over to the downstairs spare room that they've converted into an office. He brings back a some printed information about IQs.

They carefully explain to Kati was an IQ test really is, showing her the information.

"What was my score?" she asks, eyeing the graph.

"Right here," Cooper says, placing his finger on the page.

Kati's eyebrows raise.

"You scored 152," he tells her.

"Whoa," Kati says.

"Yeah," Charlotte laughs. "Whoa is right. You're basically a genius, baby girl."

Kati grins, blushing.

"So I get to stay in the AC class?" she asks hopefully, using the acronym for the academic challenge class.

"Better," Cooper grins. "Ms Briard thinks it would be best for you if we pushed you ahead a grade."

"So I'll be in fourth grade?" she frowns.

They nod and she chews her lip.

"What about my friends?"

Charlotte and Cooper exchange glances.

"Well, the class would be a grade 3/4 split. So some friends from your AC class would be there."

Kati thinks about this.

"And you can make some new friends," Cooper says brightly. "I bet there are some really great kids in that class."

They wait, seeing Kati's reaction.

"What do you think, baby?" Charlotte asks.

After a moment, Kati looks at them.

"I can decide?" she says, slightly surprised.

"We can all talk about it and decide what the best choice is," Charlotte replies.

"Okay," Kati says slowly.

"Okay?" Cooper repeats.

Kati nods. "I wanna do it. If I skip a grade, then I go to medical school sooner. I can be a doctor!"

"Absolutely," Charlotte smiles, giving her a nod.

"And, sweetie, you'll still see your friends," Cooper reminds her. "There's recess and birthdays and they can always come over to play."

Kati smiles, nodding again.

"Yeah," she agrees.

Excited, she lunges forward from sitting and wraps both arms around her parents' necks.

* * *

"Charlotte, it's Jessica," Charlotte hears over the phone the next day.

"Hi Jessica," she replies, making Kati's lunch. "How are you?"

"Oh, just preparing for a summer of three children tearing around my house," she replies, chuckling.

"Oh I'm sure we'll be stealin' Axel from you often," Charlotte says.

"Actually, that's who I'm calling about," Jessica says. "You know that IQ test the kids in Kati and Axel's AC class took?"

"Yes," Charlotte replies, slicing a cucumber.

"Well I had a meeting with Ms Briard yesterday, and she wants to bump Axel up a grade."

"Oh?" Charlotte says, letting the knife stop midair.

"I wanted to talk to you and Cooper," Jessica goes on. "I know Kati's a little genius; Axel is always coming home with his newest test, telling us that Kati beat him by a few marks. What do you think about it?"

"We spoke with Michelle, too," Charlotte replies, suddenly excited by the prospect of one of Kati's best friends joining her in a new class.

"I thought so," Jessica says. "So what do you think? I mean, feel free to tell me to be quiet and mind my own, I just wanted a second opinion. Aaron and I are discussing it."

"Well, we talked to Kati about it, and we all decided to do it," Charlotte replies.

"Oh, you did?" Jessica says, excited. "Oh, good. I was worried about dropping Axel into a class full of kids he doesn't know, when all of his friends are a grade behind him. But having Kati with him would make the transition easier."

"I totally agree," Charlotte replies. "We were worried about the same thing, but with the AC class, I figured she'd have someone with her. Michelle said two other kids were being pushed forward."

"I wonder who the third child is," Jessica ponders aloud.

"My money's on Henry," Charlotte replies. "You see that boy's science project? DNA? Really?"

"I know," Jessica agrees. "Gonna end up being a research scientist, you just watch."

"I'm with you," Charlotte replies, going back to fixing lunch.

"Oh, I'm so glad Axel will have Kati," Jessica says again.

"It'll be good for them to have each other," Charlotte replies. "Those two are just so cute together."

Jessica chuckles.

They plan to get the kids together in a few days, and then get off the phone.

"Hey darlin'," Charlotte smiles, taking lunch out to the deck where Kati is doing a puzzle at the table. "I've got some good news."

"What?" Kati grins, a puzzle piece midair as she stops to look at her mother.

Charlotte sets their plates down and then sits across from Kati.

"I just talked to Mrs Mason on the phone," Charlotte grins. "Guess who else is being bumped ahead with you?"

"Really?" Kati says, her grin brightening into a huge smile. "Axel too?"

"Yep," Charlotte nods.

Kati jumps up, coming around the table to leap into her mother's arms. Charlotte lifts her onto her lap, hugging her tightly.

"Feelin' a bit better about it now?" she asks, as Kati pulls back to face her.

She nods, and Charlotte pushes a piece of hair from her eyes. The smile on her daughter's face makes her heart warm, as she stares into her big eyes.


	22. Chapter 22

"Kati! Let's go, honey!" Cooper yells up the stairs from the front door.

A moment later Kati comes hurrying down the stairs, clutching her giraffe, Richard, that Addison gave her years ago, when she broke her arm.

"Sorry Daddy," she breathes, rushing past him out the door. "Leave no man behind! Giraffes included!"

Closing the door, he locks it quickly, grinning at Kati's wit.

"Well I can't argue with that logic," he says, turning to join her on her jog to the car. "You'd make a great soldier."

"No way," Kati replies, as Cooper opens the door to the backseat, helping her inside. "Being a doctor is one thing. Picking intestines up from fallen soldiers is a whole other story."

Cooper stops, looking at her and then at Charlotte, who's in the passenger seat.

"Graphic," he says, looking back at Kati.

She grins and he can't help but mirror her face, closing the door and getting into the driver's seat.

"Okay," he says, clapping his hands together. "Bags."

"Check," Charlotte replies.

"Carry-on bags," he says.

"Check," Charlotte replies.

"Irreplaceable stuffed family members in the form of giraffes," he says.

"Check!" Kati calls from the backseat, holding up Richard.

"Looks like the Thundercats are Go!" Charlotte grins at Cooper.

They begin the drive to the airport, where they're catching their flight to Alabama, to spend a week at Charlotte's parents house. Before Kati, this would have never been a trip she'd have taken, unless someone died. Big Daddy, who favoured Charlotte as a little girl and was hard on her brothers, is crazy about his granddaughter, and Kati loves him. She doesn't want to deny her child the time with her grandfather.

They make it to the airport with plenty of time to park the car and find their gate. As they find three seats in the boarding area, Cooper decides to go and find something to read from the store.

"Need anything?" he asks.

"No thanks," Charlotte replies, sitting down beside Kati.

As Charlotte checks emails on phone, Kati busies herself with a book. When Charlotte's phone starts to ring, she rolls her eyes, answering.

"This is Dr Freedman," she breathes. "What catastrophic event has blown up in the three hours since I left?"

As the HR rep on the other end of the phone call begins to talk, Charlotte crosses her legs and rests her head against her fingers, as she props her elbow up on the arm rest.

"Look, Rachel, I'm on vacation. That means that for the next seven days, the hospital is gonna have to cover its own ass. Now, if the place is on fire, or filled with suicide bombers, call me. Otherwise, you've got this. Alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Rachel replies, always nervous around the no-nonsense chief of staff.

Charlotte hangs up, shaking her head.

"Come on, baby. As soon as your daddy gets ba-"

Charlotte freezes, seeing the empty seat beside her, with only a Laura Ingalls Wilder book splayed across it.

"Kati?" she says, panic rising in her as she jumps up.

Her pupils dilate as fear courses through her, and she tries to look everywhere at once. How did she disappear so fast? She was right beside her.

"Kati!" she yells louder, causing people to start to stare.

"Charlotte," she hears, turning to see Cooper hurrying towards her. "What's wrong?"

"She was right here," Charlotte blurts, her eyes darting around as her fingers begin to press into her lips. "She was _right here_."

"What happened?" Cooper demands, looking around as his stomach churns and his chest tightens.

"I answered my phone, and the next thing I know she's gone. She just…disappeared!" Charlotte replies, her throat constricting as she speaks.

"Kati!" Cooper yells, moving around the boarding area, checking under seats.

"Daddy?" he hears, and he and Charlotte snap their heads to the side to see Kati, standing right outside the bathroom door.

"Oh thank god," Charlotte breathes, getting to Kati the second before Cooper.

She's too big for Charlotte to carry, but she lifts her up anyways as she hugs her tightly, Cooper wrapping his arms around both of them.

"Where did you go?" Charlotte demands, setting Kati back down.

Kati is taken aback by the fire in her mother's eyes and the snap to her words.

"The bathroom," she replies, her voice small.

She squirms her arms a bit and Charlotte realizes she might be squeezing them too hard. She loosens her grip, but doesn't let go of her daughter.

"You can't just walk away like that, Kati," Charlotte says fiercely.

Confused, Kati looks from her mother to her father.

"I'm sorry," she almost whispers.

She takes in the looks on her parents faces and the glassy shine to her mother's eyes, and her own eyes start to tingle.

Charlotte's fear, balled into anger, fades as she sees Kati's face.

Cooper bends down and lifts Kati up, hugging her against him.

"I know," he says, soothing her, rubbing her back.

He takes in his wife's terrified face and reaches out to pull her against him too.

"Everyone's fine," he says, more to Charlotte than anyone else.

The other passengers have gone back to their pre-flight activities, and after a moment Cooper sits down, unwilling to release Kati.

Charlotte sits beside him, rubbing her forehead as she exhales, calming herself. Cooper runs a reassuring hand over her back and she gives him a small smile to let him know she's alright.

"I thought…" she whispers, and shakes her head.

"I know," he nods soothingly. "I know. But she's okay."

Charlotte nods, reaching over to squeeze Kati's hand, as she hangs her head.

"It's okay, baby," Charlotte says, running a hand over Kati's hair. "It's okay. I'm sorry I yelled."

"I just had to go to the bathroom," she explains quietly. "You were on the phone."

The rule in their house is that you don't interrupt phone calls unless it's something very important. Kati just assumed having to pee wasn't a big deal. She's heard stories of children being kidnapped, but she doesn't know the extent to what this could entail. And Charlotte and Cooper don't need her knowing something that dark; they just need her to understand why she can't just go off alone.

"I know," Charlotte tells Kati, making her feel better.

"Now boarding flight 243 to Mobile, Alabama," the loudspeaker announces.

"Come on," Cooper says, eager to forget the terrified feeling in his chest and board the plane.

* * *

The flight to Mobile lasts about six hours, and they arrive at around 2:00 PM. Their rental car is waiting for them at the airport, and the drive to Monroeville takes just under two hours.

By the time they pull into the long driveway leading up to the estate, it's just after 5:00. Charlotte smiles when the house comes into view and she can see Big Daddy sitting on the porch in his rocking chair. She knows he's waiting for them, eager to see his granddaughter, even though he'd never admit being excited. As much as he loves Kati, and Charlotte, he is still a quiet, solemn man.

"Someone's waitin' for you, baby," Charlotte says.

Kati leans forward from the backseat excitedly. Despite her grandfather's sober demeanour, she is never anything but happy and bubbly around him. She'll talk his ear off and he'll just sit there and listen, offering a few words of his own.

Maggie, the housekeeper who's been working for the Kings since Charlotte was a little girl, walks out of the front door and waves, a huge smile on her face.

"My stomach just audibly growled," Cooper says, seeing Maggie.

"You just know she's gone and made fried chicken," Charlotte replies. "Knowin' you're comin', I wouldn't expect anything else from her."

They reach the loop in front of the house and Cooper parks the car only seconds before Kati is jumping out of it.

"Hi Maggie!" she smiles, running over to hug Maggie as she descends the few steps from the porch.

"Well, look at you," Maggie's face lights up. "Grown another foot since I last saw you!"

"I did not," Kati grins, as Maggie bends down to kiss her cheek.

"Go on and cheer up that grandfather of yours," she says quietly, giving Kati a wink.

Maggie walks towards the car to greet Charlotte and Cooper while Kati rushes up the steps and down the wrap-around porch to where Big Daddy is sitting, near the edge of the house.

"Big Daddy!" she cries, leaping into his lap.

He holds out his arms and helps her up, hugging her. Regardless of his lack of affection to basically everyone, he is a man unable to resist his excited granddaughter.

"Well," he says, a smile in his voice if not on his face. "You went and grew up. That California sun must be sproutin' you up."

Kati giggles, settling onto his lap.

"You finish school on top?" he asks, his deep voice booming through his chest.

"Yep," Kati replies, swinging her legs.

"Smart as a whip, like your mama," he says. "Kings are smart."

"Why don't you tell Big Daddy your big news about school?" Charlotte says, ascending the porch steps.

"Oh," Kati says, turning to face him. "I don't have to go to third grade."

"What's this?" he asks, his brow furrowing as he glances at Charlotte.

Charlotte gets to his side and bends to kiss his cheek before sitting down beside the rocking chair, on the porch swing.

"I took an IQ test and now I just go to fourth grade instead," Kati replies with a shrug.

Charlotte doesn't miss the twinkle in her father's eye as he looks at Kati, and then at her.

"Scored 152 on it," she tells her father.

"Well," he says, pride in his serious voice. "I think that deserves a reward."

Kati's face lights up, her big eyes searching her grandfather.

"New books?" she says.

Big Daddy never laughs, but instead has a gruff noise in his throat that constitutes one. He gestures for Kati to get up.

"Not quite," he replies, standing up too. "Let's go see."

"Daddy," Charlotte says, shaking her head at him when he meets her eyes. "Don't you spoil her rotten."

"Oh come on now, Charlotte," he replies, following Kati. "She's a King."

He says this sometimes as though that is explanation enough. He's nothing if not a proud man.

Kati slips her tiny hand through her grandfather's, eager to see where he takes her.

"John," Cooper nods politely, smiling as he passes. It took years before he was allowed to call Charlotte's father by his first name.

"Cooper," Big Daddy nods in response. He likes Cooper, but he'll never say it out loud.

As Jorge and another housekeeper carry in their bags from the car, Kati lets Big Daddy lead her towards the stables.

"A new saddle?" she asks.

"Maybe," Big Daddy shrugs as they walk.

Charlotte gets up from the porch, jogging to catch up with them. She was going to say hello to her mother first, but she wants to see what enormous gift he's gotten for Kati.

They reach the stables and he leads them down the middle, the horses on either side of them snorting curiously. Kati stops to run her hand over Belle's nose; she's her favourite horse, even though she's one of the oldest.

The rest the last stall and Charlotte steps behind Kati to peer inside. Standing there is a beautiful, glistening Arabian, maybe five years old. She has huge liquid chocolate eyes, a shiny black mane, and she's solid black all over. Not one bit of white or brown; solid black. Charlotte smiles, happiness bubbling inside her. When Kati was five, Big Daddy read her Black Beauty during the week they spent here for Christmas. Kati had loved the pictures. She loved the all-black horse. And he remembered. Charlotte's not surprised. If the horse is five, he probably bought her not long after that Christmas. He's been breaking her ever since, getting her ready to be the perfect horse for Kati.

Charlotte and Big Daddy look down at Kati, who hasn't said a word.

A tiny smile plays across his lips as he stares at Kati's orb-like eyes, taking in the beautiful horse in front of her.

"I bought this girl awhile ago," he says slowly. "But I've got no one to ride her. Then I remembered a little girl who loves black horses."

Kati stares at the horse and then finally breaks her gaze to look at her grandfather.

"She's…for me?" she almost whispers, shocked.

Big Daddy gives Kati one of his rare smiles. "She's for you," he nods once.

Kati turns back to the horse in disbelief.

"Sugar," Charlotte begins, reminding Kati to remember her manners.

"Oh, hush," Big Daddy waves her off. "She's thanking me right now."

He nods towards Kati's face and Charlotte grins. Kati can't stop staring; she's barely even blinking.

"Thank you," Kati says anyway, throwing her arms around her grandfather. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Big Daddy replies, patting her back.

When Kati releases him, he leans over and slips a bridle over the horse. He opens the stall and hands Kati the reins.

For a moment, Charlotte wants to take the reins from her, but she reminds herself that her father wouldn't go and give her daughter a horse unless he was absolutely certain that she was as gentle as a kitten.

Sure enough, the horse slowly moves forward, curiously sniffing Kati. The horse is tall and has to stretch her neck down to reach Kati's face.

"Mommy," Kati breathes, looking up at her.

"She's beautiful," Charlotte nods with a smile.

Big Daddy appears from the tack room carrying a brand new black saddle. He starts to strap it onto the horse as Kati stares.

"What?" he says, tightening the girdle. "I did say I might have gotten you a saddle as well, didn't I?"

Kati smiles and Charlotte can see in her father's blue eyes that he's so pleased to have Kati this happy.

Cooper enters the barn.

"Hey," he grins. "I came out of the house and you were gone."

"Wanted to come see what Kati's gift was, for gettin' straight As," Charlotte replies. "In the form of skipping a grade, that is."

Cooper stares, reaching Charlotte, at the beautiful horse being saddled by Big Daddy.

"For Kati?" he stares.

"Yep," Charlotte grins.

"She's beautiful," Cooper says, looking down at Kati and then smiling at the expression on her face.

He leans into Charlotte's ear. "How are we ever gonna top this gift?" he whispers.

Charlotte chuckles and they watch as Big Daddy beckons Kati to follow him out of the barn. They reach the corral and he lifts Kati up to the saddle. It's a perfect fit.

"See how she rides," Big Daddy nods towards the corral.

Without needing encouragement, Kati points her heels and pushes into the horse's belly and the two of them go out into the corral.

"Daddy, she's incredible," Charlotte says, as they step towards him.

"Finest Arabian I've seen in awhile," Big Daddy nods.

Kati's been riding since she was four, when someone would pop her up in the saddle with someone else. On her own, she's been riding for a couple years, and she's not afraid to go fast.

Big Daddy's corral is large, with room for a horse to sprint, and Kati wastes no time in nudging the horse into a canter.

"That child has no fear," Cooper says, watching.

"Well I put my foot down at sky-diving or base-jumping or any of that garbage," Charlotte replies. "Gallopin' on a horse, well, I can deal with that."

Kati runs the horse around and stops her on the other side of the corral, sliding off the saddle so she can stand in front of the horse and talk to her.

"You're very good to her, John," Cooper nods appreciatively.

Big Daddy just watches Kati. "Little girls deserve a horse. Especially this one. Never met a smarter child in my life."

The three of them watch as Kati pets the horse's velvety nose and then plants a kiss on it, before going back to her side and heaving herself up into the saddle. She trots back over to them and slides back off, running over to throw her arms around her grandfather.

"I love her," she smiles happily.

"You better name her," Charlotte reminds her. "Every horse needs a name."

Kati chews her lip, running her hand down the horse's head.

"Bluegrass," she finally says.

"Bluegrass?" Cooper replies. "How come?"

"I just like the way it sounds," Kati shrugs. "I mean, she _is _a Southern girl, after all."

She grins at her parents as they chuckle.

"That's a fine name," Big Daddy nods, watching proudly as Kati goes back to stroking the horse.


	23. Chapter 23

"Ready?" Charlotte smiles, straightening Kati's shirt as she and Cooper stand in front of her.

Kati glances again towards the classroom door. She's more nervous than she thought she'd be; than her parents thought she'd be. All of her friends, aside from Axel and Henry, are back in third grade, and she's about to walk into her fourth-grade classroom. Even the third graders in the split class will be strangers to her. And she's not even really friends with Henry. They get along and everything, but they never play outside of school.

"Okay," she finally breathes, giving them a nod.

"It's gonna be great, honey," Cooper says to her.

"Yeah," Kati replies, more to herself, as she shifts her backpack. "I better go."

"Kati!" they hear, and turn to see Axel running down the hallway, his father Aaron close behind.

"Axel!" Kati smiles, any sign of nervousness fading.

"We were almost late," he explains, coming to a stop in front of her. "We saw a crazy accident on the way."

"Was it serious?" Charlotte turns to Aaron, wondering what kind of hospital she's about to drive over to.

"Looks pretty bad," Aaron replies regretfully. "Four cars, three ambulances. Looks like you'll have your work cut out for you today."

He grins sympathetically and Charlotte makes a face, agreeing with him.

"Bye Dad!" Axel says, giving him a quick hug around the waist.

"Bye buddy," Aaron smiles, running a hand over his head before Axel darts off. "Have a great day. I can't wait to hear all about it."

Axel waves at Charlotte and Cooper as they give Kati another hug, and the two of them head towards the classroom.

"Are we crazy for doing this? Shoving them into a new age group of complete strangers?" Aaron says, hands in his pockets as he watches his son disappear into the room.

"I don't think so," Charlotte replies kindly. "It'd be a shame to hold them back. And those two make friends without a second thought."

Aaron chuckles and nods.

"Bye Daddy," they hear, and turn to see a little girl with blonde hair wrap her arms around her father's neck. She's wearing colourful leggings, a bright pink skirt, and a polka-dot t-shirt, and her long hair is tied in a messy ponytail. She looks as though she chose her own outfit and her father did his best to do her hair, but she also comes across as a vibrant girl.

"Bye peanut," he replies, glowing with love for her. "Have a great day. I just know you're gonna make friends and have fun."

The little girl grins and hurries into the classroom as soon as he puts her down, and then the teacher, Mrs Sprague, closes the door.

The father rubs his head as he exhales, looking exhausted and a little nervous. When he looks up and sees the Freedmans and Aaron, he pastes on a polite smile.

"Hello," he says, taking a few steps towards them. "Are your children in this class too?"

"Yes, our daughter," Charlotte nods. "And Aaron's little boy. Is your little girl new here?"

"Jamie, yeah," the father replies, and then holds out his hand. "George Edwards."

They shake his hand.

"It's a great school," Aaron offers.

"I've heard great things," George nods. "We were up in San Diego before, and after Jamie did the IQ test and then I knew we were moving, I wanted to find the best place for her to, y'know. Prosper, I guess."

"She'll love it," Charlotte says, smiling. "Our Kati just loves school."

"Good," George nods, as if convincing himself. "I guess I'm just a little nervous for her."

"She's in good hands," Cooper assures him.

"What do you do?" Charlotte asks, as the four of them begin to walk down the hallway to leave.

"I'm a lawyer," George replies. "We moved down here when I made partner. Just a few weeks ago."

"Settling in alright?" Cooper asks conversationally, holding the door for all three of them.

"Oh it's great," George nods, more at ease. "We're living up in the hills. Rising Glen Road?"

"Oh wow," Charlotte says. "We're just on North Doheny. And the Masons are over on Franklin Canyon."

"Is that close?" George asks, giving a laugh. "I'm afraid I still don't know much about our neighbourhood."

"You're only a few minutes from us," Charlotte replies with a smile.

"A little farther from our place, but we'd love to get the kids together," Aaron offers. "Kati and Axel are always spending Saturdays together. You should bring Jamie by."

Charlotte and Cooper nod agreeably.

"That would be fantastic," George says, his earlier glum mood gone. "I'm sure Jamie would love to!"

They exchange cards and then head off to their separate jobs.

* * *

When it's time to pick Kati up, Charlotte and Cooper both go. Usually only one of them goes to get her, but they're both eager to hear about how her day went, so Cooper picks Charlotte up from the hospital on the way there.

Kids are milling around and they find Kati at her locker, getting her stuff together. She turns and sees them, a huge smile shining on her face as she hurries over.

"How'd it go?" Cooper asks, hugging her.

"Amazing," Kati replies excitedly. "I love it. The kids are really nice, and I wasn't bored at all. Not even once."

"That's great, baby," Charlotte smiles, hugging her.

They head out to the car to go home. The whole way, Kati tells them about her day. Compared to the shy, nervous girl from this morning, this Kati is worlds apart.

"Oh," Kati says, hopping out of the car. "And I made a new friend! She wants to come play so I said I'd ask you guys. Can she come over on Saturday?"

"Sure, baby," Charlotte replies, unlocking the front door. "What's your new friend's name?"

"Jamie Edwards," Kati replies, kicking her shoes off. "She played with Axel and me at recess, and she sits beside me in class."

"We met Jamie's father this morning," Charlotte replies. "He was suggestin' we get all three of you together to play."

"Really?" Kati grins excitedly.

"Sound good?" Charlotte laughs.

"Um, yeah," Kati replies, as though this should be obvious.

* * *

On Saturday the three families decide to get together at the Freedman's house, so the kids can go swimming, and Addison, Amelia, Sam, Naomi and Violet come as well.

Jamie and her father are the last to arrive.

"You must be Jamie," Charlotte says after greeting George.

"Yep," Jamie replies, a huge smile on her face. She's again wearing a crazy outfit and her hair is twisted into a messy braid.

Before Charlotte can say anything else, Kati grabs Jamie's hand and drags her outside.

"Come on back," she chuckles, placing a hand on George's back and leading him to the patio doors.

They step out onto the deck and descend the several stairs that lead down to the cement patio where the patio furniture sits around the pool, and on the far right-hand side is the built-in barbecue and the big table. The yard is full, and Kati and Jamie are already down to their bathing suits. Jamie runs full-speed and launches herself into the water where Axel and Atticus are already playing. Kati has never loved swimming, so she chooses to enter the water slowly, down the steps.

"Everybody," Charlotte says to the group of adults. "This is George Edwards, Jamie's father."

The group smiles and waves, holding their drinks up by way of a greeting.

"George, this is everybody," Charlotte gestures towards them. "You'll meet 'em all as soon as you tell me what kinda drink I can put in your hand. You name it, we've got it."

"Oh," George says, his hands in the pockets of his shorts as he thinks. "Scotch? Neat?"

"My kinda man," Addison holds up her tumbler of scotch with a grin, as she takes in George's silver-fox hair and deep blue eyes.

"Down girl," Amelia mutters under her breath to her.

Addison turns and gives her a dirty look but Amelia just grins at her own joke.

"I'm on it!" Cooper calls out from behind the wet bar, where he and Sam are talking.

"Have a seat, George," Addison smiles, patting the chair beside her.

"Thanks," he grins, coming to sit down.

"So you're new to LA?" she asks conversationally.

"A few weeks in, yep," George nods, taking the glass Charlotte hands him and thanking her.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer," he replies. "And you?"

"I'm a doctor. Well, a surgeon. And an OB/GYN," Addison says.

"Wow," George says, impressed.

"Don't be too impressed," Amelia leans over from Addison's other side. "We're all doctors."

"All of you?" George raises his brow, looking around.

"Except for Aaron and me," Jessica laughs. "I'm an interior decorator. Aaron's an engineer."

"Well that's not at all intimidating," George says, teasing, sipping his drink.

"And you moved down with…your wife?" Addison says, trying to be smooth.

Beside her, Amelia shakes her head, busying her mouth with alcohol so she doesn't blurt something out.

"No, it's just me and Jamie," George replies, looking over to where Jamie is splashing around with the other kids.

"Oh," Addison says, echoed by Naomi and Amelia; all sounding sympathetic and developing a look of sadness in their eyes.

George laughs. "I seem to get that reaction a lot."

"It must be tough, being a single dad," Naomi says.

"Somedays," George nods. "But Jamie's great. She's a little bit mischievous sometimes, and she's definitely her own person. You can probably tell she chooses her own outfits," he laughs. "And I'm still learning how to handle that hair of hers, but...she's an amazing kid."

"She's in Kati's genius class?" Amelia asks.

"Yeah," George laughs. "Is that what everyone calls it?"

"That's just what we call it," Addison shrugs. "Our Kati is pretty spectacular."

"So did she skip a grade as well?" Naomi asks.

"No," George shakes his head. "She's just always been at the top of her class. When I applied for her to go to the Village School, they saw her test scores and placed her. Did Kati skip?"

"Third grade," Addison nods. "Just sailed right over it. Axel, too."

"Wow," George says, impressed, looking at the Masons too. "That's amazing."

"So where is Jamie's mother?" Amelia asks, unable to filter bold questions.

"She, uh," George begins, looking down at his glass. "She left. About six months after Jamie was born."

The forehead of every woman in the group creases at hearing this.

"I'm so sorry," Addison says, touching his arm.

"Ah, we do alright," George replies with a wave. "She spends some time with my sister every now and then, so. She gets girl time."

"She seems like a wonderful girl," Jessica says to him, cradling her new baby.

"Thank you," George smiles with pride. "She is. I don't know where she picked up her sense of humour or that brain of hers, but she's something else."

"Well, obviously she has a very intelligent father," Addison puts in.

Amelia rolls her eyes and gets up, going over to where Cooper and Sam are standing by the bar.

"What's on the menu today, boys?" she asks, leaning against the bar.

"Steak," Cooper replies, holding up a spatula and frowning. "Men will make fire. Cook meat."

Amelia just looks at him and then walks away.

"We have the weirdest group of friends on the planet," she says, sitting beside Charlotte in a chair.

"Helps to have other weirdos around," Charlotte replies, sipping her drink. "Makes everyone else's Crazy look a little less intense."

Amelia raises her brow in agreement and takes a drink.

"So did you know that Jamie's mom cut and run?" she asks.

"Not until just now," Charlotte replies. "But I figured."

"I can't believe that," Amelia says, shaking her head. "I mean, I don't want kids. I know that. But I'd never just abandon a kid without knowing they were gonna be okay. I'd give a baby up for adoption or something. But never abandon it."

"I think George's done a good job," Charlotte says, glancing at the kids.

"He has," Amelia agrees. "I just mean, it's a huge thing to dump on a guy's lap, a six-month-old baby."

Charlotte nods, and they both watch the kids in the pool.

"Those two seem to really love each other," Amelia says, referring to Jamie and Kati, who are giggling together.

"I know," Charlotte smiles. "Pretty adorable. I love that she's such good friends with Axel, but it's nice for her to have a girl friend, too."

"You just watch," Amelia says, pointing her beer bottle at the kids. "Kati's gonna marry that boy."

"Oh come on," Charlotte says, frowning at Amelia.

"I'm serious," Amelia says. "I bet her college tuition on it."

"She'll be gettin' married long after she finishes college, Amelia," Charlotte replies.

"Oh yeah," Amelia says. "Well, still."

They look up as Cooper starts taking steak done-ness orders.

"Well," Charlotte says, getting up. "Guess we better bring out the rest of the spread."

Amelia and Violet follow her inside to help her, but Addison refuses to tear herself away from George's side, enthralled with him as he tells her about his law practice.


	24. Chapter 24

"Mommy, it's fine," Kati groans, pulling her head away from Charlotte's hands as her mother fusses with her hair.

"Alright, alright," Charlotte gives in, releasing her daughter's hair.

It's Kati's Christmas recital at school. She's on the dance team this year, along with Jamie, and they're backstage getting ready for them to go on.

Kati's always been more drawn to sports, but since meeting and becoming basically attached to Jamie, she's been trying out some more girly activities. Jamie's been in dance since she was four, and Charlotte knows Kati's decision to join the dance team was heavily influenced by Kati's strong friendship with Jamie. Not that she minds. She and Cooper are glad to see her trying new things. They're just not sure this will stick. As easily as she picks up the dance routines, she's quick to tear her leotard off after practicing and get outside with her soccer ball or volleyball.

Charlotte looks up as a cry sounds from a few mirrors down, and watches as George tries helplessly to fix Jamie's hair, as she winces. With their girls being inseparable for the past three months, she and George have become friends as well. But she's never offered to step in and help him out with Jamie's clothes or hair. He's never asked, and Jamie doesn't care. But tonight, with the other five girls' hair flawlessly combed into perfect buns, George is struggling with Jamie's long, slightly frizzy blonde curls. The blonde of her hair is brighter than most, not fading to dirty blonde like most blonde does, and it's straighter on top as it flows into curls at the bottom.

"I'll be right back, baby," Charlotte says quietly to Kati, who is squirming in her costume.

She walks over to Jamie and George, placing a hand on George's shoulder.

"Need a hand?" she asks kindly.

George sets his mouth in a sort-of smile, looking slightly embarrassed. He hesitates.

"Please," he finally agrees, handing Charlotte the comb.

"Let's see what we can do here, honey," she smiles at Jamie.

Jamie smiles gratefully, her teary eyes blinking.

"Good lord, girl," Charlotte says, combing it straight. "You've got as much hair as Kati. Enough for three of ya!"

Jamie grins as Charlotte carefully combs her thick hair, making sure it's perfectly smooth on top before she twists it into a bun to match the other girls.

"Thanks Charlotte," George says quietly, as Charlotte finishes and Jamie admires her handiwork.

"Don't mention it," Charlotte replies, not wanting him to look so sheepish. "I grew up with stick-straight hair, and now I've got a daughter with twice as much hair as me, and it's curly to boot. You know how long it took me to learn how to manage that mane?"

George chuckles as Charlotte hands him the comb.

"No one's expectin' you to be some kind of hair stylist," Charlotte offers. "Your girl's got no problem dressin' herself, but you need help with that head of hair, you just let me know. I'm more than happy to help you out."

"Thanks," he nods once, zipping up Jamie's backpack. "Really. I appreciate it."

Charlotte smiles as they turn to find their girls, now sharing the same mirror as they attempt to apply a tube of Charlotte's lipstick.

"Oh god," George breathes, as they walk over to them. "Please tell me makeup is years away."

"Trust me," Charlotte replies seriously. "Those girls aren't gonna be paintin' their faces for at least six more years."

"Six?" George's eyes widen as they reach the girls. "I was thinking more like 10."

Charlotte laughs, reaching out to take away the lipstick.

"Mom," Kati complains, her red lips making her look far older than eight.

"Not a chance," Charlotte replies sternly, wiping her lips with a kleenex and then handing Kati a tube of sheer gloss instead.

Kati frowns but takes the compromise.

"We're talkin' about girls here," Charlotte tells George. "Ten years is askin' too much. When they're 13 or 14, we can have the makeup talk."

"Please tell me you'll take the reins for that conversation," George frowns, looking miserable.

"Oh I will," Charlotte assures him, and George chuckles at her stern look.

They watch as the girls carefully apply the sheer lipgloss, clearly ecstatic to be using Charlotte's own makeup.

"Alright, cover girls," Charlotte says, taking the gloss back. "That's enough."

"How do we look?" Kati grins, as she and Jamie turn to face their parents.

"Absolutely beautiful," Charlotte replies, smiling at her daughter and wishing she were two again.

Kati and Jamie giggle excitedly, and their dance teacher claps her hands, calling for them to get ready.

"We'll see you out there," Charlotte bends, kissing Kati's cheek.

Suddenly, Kati clutches her mother's hand, and when Charlotte meets her eyes she finds them full of fear.

"Mommy I'm scared," she whispers, when Jamie's out of earshot.

"Of what?" Charlotte asks, pulling Kati to the side.

"Of being out there. On the stage," Kati replies, looking slightly ashamed. "Everyone's gonna be looking at me."

"Baby, bein' a little nervous is fine," Charlotte assures her. "But you're gonna be great out there. You've been practicin' for weeks."

"What if I forget?" Kati asks, looking down at her jazz shoes.

"Then you wing it," Charlotte replies easily. "You relax, and you just let your body help you remember the moves. You can do this dance without music, in a dark room with your eyes closed."

Kati's manages a small grin.

"Don't be scared," Charlotte tells her with a smile. "You are beautiful and smart and absolutely wonderful. And you're gonna do an amazin' job tonight."

The small grin widens into a real smile.

"Is Daddy here?"

"Not yet," Charlotte replies honestly. "But don't worry. He's doin' everything he can to get here on time, and if the hospital keeps him too long, we can all watch the tape later."

She holds up the video camera, and Kati nods.

"Ready?" Charlotte asks, as Carrie, the dance teacher, calls the girls.

Kati takes a deep breath and Jamie rushes up to them, a huge smile on her face.

"Come on," she urges excitedly.

Being onstage has never been a problem for Jamie. She was made for the spotlight, and Charlotte likes that she is always trying to help Kati overcome her stage fright. She bends down to kiss her daughter before the two of them take off.

She walks out to the auditorium and finds George in the front row, saving three seats. Directly behind them sits Addison, Naomi, Violet, Sheldon and Amelia.

"How's she doing?" Addison asks, as Charlotte sits down. "She nervous?"

"A little," Charlotte nods. "Always gets a bit jittery."

"And then she always crushes it," Amelia puts in.

"Exactly," Charlotte grins.

They settle in as the lights start to dim. Charlotte checks her phone, but there's no message from Cooper.

Michelle Briard takes the stage and approaches the microphone, introducing the Christmas recital for the Village School.

The performances start, beginning with the kindergarten classes singing carols, and the first and second graders doing a short skit about Jesus, and then Hanukkah.

The dance group is made up of two girls from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades each. Kati and Jamie are the youngest ones, but Jamie is probably the most talented. Ms Briard comes out after the Hanukkah skit and introduces the dance group. Charlotte exhales, urging Cooper silently to hurry up. She knows Kati will be looking for him.

The curtain closes and the lights start to dim, and the suddenly someone is slamming into the seat beside Charlotte.

"Good Lord, Cooper!" Charlotte whispers loudly, as he rights himself.

"Sorry," he whispers back, out of breath. "Sorry. Did I make it? I ran. I mean, not from the hospital, but from the parking lot."

"She's just goin' on now," Charlotte replies, grinning. It's adorable seeing her husband so devoted to their daughter; out of breath just to make sure he's here.

"Smooth move, Coop," Amelia whispers, leaning forward.

"MacGuyver," Cooper grins back, as the curtain slowly starts to open.

When Kati's face appears, she immediately looks for her parents, in order to have them to look to for support. When she sees her father, her smile widens and he winks at her, grinning.

"She looks so beautiful," he whispers to Charlotte.

Addison's eyes tear as they watch the girls start their dance routine. She knows Kati's nervous, but her shyness only makes her more adorable to her. But Kati nails the dance, and afterwards the eight of them give the girls a standing ovation.

"How'd you manage such a solid bun there, George," Amelia nudges him playfully, referring to Jamie.

"It was all Charlotte," George laughs. "We all know I'm not getting any better at doing hair."

"You make up for it in other ways," Addison replies with a flirty smile.

They sit down again, watching as Kati and Jamie's class sings carols, and after about 45 minutes, the Christmas concert is over and everyone starts to leave.

They head out to the foyer to wait for the girls.

"Daddy!" they hear, and watch as Kati races over with Jamie, and launches herself into Cooper's arms, as George lifts his own daughter proudly.

"Honey, you were amazing," Cooper smiles, pride seeping from him.

Kati blushes as Charlotte and everyone else comes forward to kiss and congratulate her.

"It looked good?" Kati asks her parents.

"It looked incredible, sugar," Charlotte replies happily.

"Better than incredible," Amelia assures her, tickling her ribs.

"I think these girls deserve a celebration," George says, Jamie still attached to his hip.

"Yes!" Jamie agrees enthusiastically.

"I'm thinking ice cream," Cooper suggests thoughtfully.

Kati and Jamie agree and the group heads out.

* * *

That year for Christmas, the Freedmans invite George and Jamie along on their trip. They tend to go away for the holidays, and don't want George and Jamie spending the holidays alone. George agrees, taking a much-needed vacation from work, and along with Addison, Amelia, Pete and Violet, the group heads to Whistler.

They haven't been back since their trip here when Kati was five. They manage to get the same huge cabin, and thankfully they don't have to spend their first hour here at the hospital.

Kati's been snowboarding since she was five, and George has had Jamie on skis basically since she could walk. The only ones who don't do either are Charlotte and Violet.

"Mom, we can go by ourselves," Kati urges her quietly, as they head towards the lineup for lift passes.

"By yourselves? On a mountain? I don't think so, baby girl," Charlotte replies, handing over her credit card.

"Dad?" Kati groans, looking up at him for help.

Cooper considers, looking from Kati to his wife, who is giving him a stern look that flat-out says no. In response, he tilts his head, asking her to reconsider.

"Lots of kids go by themselves, Dr Freedman," Jamie offers, pulling on her gloves.

"They won't be by themselves, honey," Cooper assures her. "We'll take the lifts together, and try to stay together, but people get split up."

"Yeah," Kati agrees. "Besides, I can tell time," she adds, annoyed. "We'll come meet you for lunch at the chalet. And you'll be able to see me from the top of the mountain anyways. I'm about as hard to miss as an earthquake."

She gestures down at her violently bright rainbow snow pants.

Charlotte exhales, her mouth in a firm line.

"Mo-om," Kati draws the word out.

"You stay with your daddy," Charlotte replies firmly. "If one of you gets to the bottom first, you wait for the other. Is that understood?"

"Fine," Kati sighs, pulling on her gloves and lifting up her board. "Come on, Jamie."

The two of them start to walk away.

"Hey," Charlotte calls, and Kati turns to look at her, unimpressed. "I love you."

Kati frowns, preferring to be mad at her mother rather than call a truce.

"Love you too," she grumbles, turning away again.

"I liked it better when she was always sweet," Charlotte mumbles to Cooper. "And when _you _didn't undermine my rules."

"I'm not undermining you," Cooper chuckles, wrapping her in a hug. "She's growing up. It's better to give her a little leeway than keep a short leash. Otherwise she'll _really _rebel."

"Kati, rebellious?" Addison laughs. "Yeah right."

The group pulls on their gloves and gets ready to follow Kati and Jamie down to the line up for the lifts.

"You keep an eye on her," Charlotte tells Cooper sternly.

"Obviously," Cooper replies, rolling his eyes. "I'm not saying I want to let my kid zoom around a mountain alone, if that's what you're getting at."

He kisses Charlotte's forehead and then he and George walk away.

"She'll be fine, Charlotte," Amelia tells her.

"It's the first time she's gone with someone other than just Cooper," Charlotte replies. "She's hard enough to keep track of when it's just them, she goes so fast now."

"She's as good on her board as she is on her feet," Addison replies. "She knows what she's doing up there, and we'll all be on the same lifts. Don't sweat it. We'll see you for lunch."

She gives Charlotte a smile and they all head down to the lifts, where Kati and Jamie are already waiting.

"I'm not five, Dad," Kati says, as she, Cooper, Jamie and George are settled on a lift. "I don't need you to keep me on a leash."

"I know that," Cooper replies, trying to let her know he understands her, and not, as Charlotte likes to think, trying to be her friend rather than her father. "But it's dangerous up here, too. You know that. How many times have we seen someone get picked up on a skidoo and taken down?"

"I know," Kati replies. "But I've been doing this for three years. I know where I can't go, and I know not to do something stupid like take off with people I don't know."

"I know you do, honey," Cooper assures her. "But we still have to be careful. From the top of the lift to the bottom, you and Jamie go. But you wait at the bottom. You hear me? No riding up without me and George."

"Okay," Kati agrees, sounding more cheery.

"Deal?" Cooper holds out a hand.

"Deal," Kati replies, slapping her gloved hand into his and shaking it.

They reach the top of the lift and get off, before sitting down so they can do up their bindings while George and Jamie assess the conditions.

"Looks pretty good out there," George says.

"Prime," Jamie nods, and George laughs. She heard a teenager say that five minutes ago down at the chair lift.

"Meet at the bottom?" George says, giving Jamie a stern look.

"Yeah, Dad," she replies dismissively. "Like Kati said, you can't miss us."

She holds out one rainbow leg, the same pants as Kati.

"Alright," Cooper says, a little nervous but forcing himself to loosen the reins a little. "See you down there."

Kati stands up and grins at Jamie.

"Race you to the bottom?"

Jamie laughs, and pushes off. "See you down there."

Kati hops onto her heel edge and takes off after her.

"I'd feel better if they didn't make a race out of it," Cooper sighs.

"I'd feel better if they stayed five forever," George replies, clapping Cooper on the shoulder. "Try not to think about it. Believe me, you'll spend hours imagining all of the terrible things that could happen. Come on."

Cooper pulls down his goggles and follows George.

* * *

"Did you see that kid?" Kati breathes, as she and Jamie take a break near the tree line.

"I could totally do that," Jamie replies, watching as another kid launches off the small jump and lands it.

"Let's do the next one," Kati grins.

They push off and gain some speed, approaching another small jump on the intermediate hill. Kati gets the little rush of fear she gets every time she's about to do a jump, but she manages to land and slides over to the tree line again. She watches as Jamie takes the jump and lands it.

"Can you imagine doing the Olympic ones that are the size of a house?" Kati says, adjusting her goggles.

"After high school, we should travel all over the world and go to every mountain," Jamie declares.

"_Every _mountain?" Kati raises an eyebrow, looking so much like her mother.

"You know what I mean," Jamie laughs. "We could travel all over the place!"

"I wanna go to Europe," Kati says.

"So we'll go to Europe," Jamie shrugs. Decisions never seem hard for her, Kati has realized. And she's always talking about what they're going to do after high school. Most of Jamie's plans involve jumping off of cliffs and skiing crazy mountains and bungee jumping. Kati's not so sure she's up for all of that, but she's up for traveling anywhere with her best friend.

"Hey look," Jamie points to a path made through the trees. "Someone made a path."

She moves to head down it.

"Wait," Kati says, looking around. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"Why not? It's just a path," Jamie shrugs. "It probably leads right to the run beside these trees."

"Or we fall to our untimely deaths," Kati replies.

Jamie laughs, continuing down the path.

Reluctantly, Kati follows. She may not always agree with Jamie, but she's not about to let her go off alone.

It's harder for her, on a snowboard, to navigate the thinner path, but she manages. It seems to go on and on, and Kati knows she's going to be in her mother's line of fire if they don't get to the bottom of the mountain soon.

"K, I'm officially creeped out," Kati says, after a few minutes.

"I'm just officially bored," Jamie replies. "Let's turn back."

"No wait," Kati says, bending over and peering through the trees. "I can see people."

They carry on and finally reach a break in the trees.

"Oh," Jamie says, looking around, "It does just lead to another run."

"Yeah," Kati says dryly. "A double-black diamond run."

They look up and see the sign indicating the skill level.

"Awesome," Jamie's eyes light up.

"Multiple leg fractures are not awesome," Kati replies, watching as several boarders zoom past them.

"Well you're gonna be a doctor," Jamie replies. "You should see this kind of stuff now, so you're not blown away by it later."

"I don't think that's how it works," Kati giggles nervously.

She's a great snowboarder, but she's never even attempted a black diamond, let alone a double. This run has lots of jumps and bumps and harsh ice, rather than softer snow.

"Should we go back?" Jamie wonders out loud, surprising Kati.

"Yes," she replies immediately.

"Just kidding," Jamie looks at her, a mischievous grin on her face.

And with that she pushes off, starting down the mountain.


	25. Chapter 25

"Hold it!" Kati bursts out.

Surprisingly, Jamie stops. She's only a few feet ahead of Kati.

"Look, I'm all for trying new things and letting you get us into small amounts of trouble, but no. We can't do this," Kati shakes her head, holding onto a tree branch. "I mean actually _can't_. Look at that, Jamie."

Jamie follows Kati's arm and looks out at the terrain. She frowns, looking bummed.

"Alright, fine," she sighs.

Manoeuvring sideways, she steps back to the tree line, and they slowly slide through the trees, making their own return path.

"We are never telling anyone we were too afraid to do that," Jamie lets Kati know as they forage their path.

"I'm sure we'll forget about it by the time we reach the bottom and see the search party my Mom has ready," Kati replies dryly.

Jamie giggles and Kati rolls her eyes. Jamie never has to deal with an overprotective parent. Sure, her dad is protective, but not like Kati's parents. She's beginning to think no one's parents are as crazy as hers.

They reach the blue hill again and make their way down, hurrying without stopping to talk about a jump or how fast they got going.

Sure enough, when they reach the spot where all the runs come together to land at the line for the lifts, Kati spots her father, George, Addison and Amelia. Standing beside them is Charlotte.

Kati exhales, annoyed, and hurries to the bottom, grinding her board to a halt a few feet from her mother, spraying snow. But Kati is more focused on the fact that her mother see she that she's agile on a board.

"Where have you been?" Charlotte demands, as Jamie skids to a stop beside Kati.

"It's a long run," Kati replies, looking away from her mother and undoing one of her bindings so she can skit around with one leg.

"A long run?" Charlotte replies.

Kati knows her mother would lose her mind if she knew what just about happened, so she just starts for the lift again.

"Yes, Mom," she calls. "A long run. Sorry we took too long!"

Without needing to be beckoned, Jamie hurries after Kati.

"Officially the first time I've seen you lie to your mom," she whispers into her best friend's ear.

"Technically it wasn't a lie," Kati replies, as they reach the line up.

They meet eyes and grin, and Kati doesn't feel too guilty because technically she did tell the truth. Her mother can always tell when she's lying, and it's not like she flat-out asked Kati where they were. She shakes it off as Addison and Amelia ski over.

"Alright, you two," Addison grins. "What made you 10 minutes later than you normally would be?"

Kati pulls her goggles back on, hiding her most obvious lie detectors: her eyes.

"We stopped to watch some jumps," Jamie replies easily. "And did some jumps, too."

"And didn't fall," Kati adds, giving Addison a So There smile.

Addison raises her brow. "Alright, take it easy. Don't go getting all mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Kati replies, giving her aunt a smile to make her feel better.

"Let's see these jumps," Amelia says.

Kati and Jamie look at each other, and even through Kati's goggles, she knows what Jamie's thinking.

"Okay," Kati shrugs, and they move forward in the line.

* * *

"Are you sure they said top chalet?" Addison asks, as Kati expertly scrapes her heel edge to a stop.

"No," she replies, clicking her bindings open. "I just have to pee."

"How could we all have lunch at the top chalet when Charlotte and Violet aren't on skis?" Amelia nudges Addison teasingly.

"Oh," Addison frowns. "Right."

Jamie and Kati race inside, and Addison and Amelia wait for them.

"I think I got a contact high from those guys on the lift," Addison says to Amelia.

"Yeah, they were high as kites," Amelia shakes her head. "Man, I miss college."

"College? They were 14. Maybe. That's middle school," Addison replies.

"Either way," Amelia shrugs. "It doesn't seem to be affecting their snowboarding."

Addison just laughs, and they watch people zip past the upper chalet.

"Hey, there's Cooper and George," Amelia points out Cooper's bright blue jacket.

"Oh yeah," Addison says quietly, watching George.

"Are you ever going to make that move, or are you just content to shamelessly flirt with him?" Amelia asks bluntly.

Addison gives her a look.

"What? You look at him like he's the last pint of Double Fudge Brownie in the freezer," Amelia replies. "I'm not blaming you. The man is hot. Like, severely hot."

"Right?" Addison agrees, and shakes her head. "I dunno. Maybe I just like the chase."

"Oh you absolutely love the chase," Amelia replies knowingly. "But at some point you always decide whether or not it's a crush worth checking out a little further."

"I dunno," Addison repeats. "I'm keeping my options open. Ever since Kevin, I just want to be sure it's a relationship that's worth my time."

"Well then scratch George off that list," Amelia replies easily.

"What? Why?" Addison frowns.

"Because," Amelia answers, as though it should be obvious. "You won't let it go anywhere long term, we both know that. He's got a kid to raise, and that kid is extremely attached to _our _niece. You won't jeopardize that relationship for Kati, and thus, you will not pursue that sexy, sexy man."

"What sexy man?" Kati asks, announcing hers and Jamie's return from the bathroom.

"Wentworth Miller," Addison replies easily.

"When would you pursue him?" Kati asks, confused. "Did you meet him or something?"

"No," Addison laughs. "I wish."

She changes the subject to lunch, hoping to come across as nonchalant to the girls.

"Last one down buys beers," Amelia says, taking off.

Kati and Addison exchange looks.

"Or deep-fried brownies," Addison offers, and Kati responds with a nod.

"You're on," she agrees. "Beer's disgusting."

She takes off and Addison stares after her, eyes wide with shock.

"Relax," Jamie chuckles beside her, snapping into her skis. "Dr Cooper let her try a sip, and yes, Charlotte was there."

Addison nods, understanding, and Jamie continues to laugh at her expression as she takes off down the mountain.

* * *

"Oh my god, my legs," Cooper groans, as the group finds a table in the chalet.

"Finally feeling your age, old man?" Amelia teases.

"I hope not," Cooper frowns. "I better be out here even when Kati's a teenager."

"Oh, please," Violet laughs. "I'm sure at the point, she'll definitely be going by herself."

"No way," Cooper replies, glancing at Kati. "Kati and I are always gonna have Dad & Daughter days. Even when we're both old."

"Yep," Kati nods, dropping her goggles, toque and gloves on the table. "Dad's gonna teach me how to paintball."

"What on earth is paintball?" Violet asks, helping Jamie out of her jacket.

"Exactly how it sounds," Cooper replies. "Gun, balls of paint, and a serious game of tag."

"No," Violet's eyes widen, and she looks to Charlotte.

Surprisingly, Charlotte just shrugs. "She wants to try."

"Getting shot?" Addison frowns.

"You can turn the pressure down on the guns," Cooper laughs, hanging up his jacket. "It's not like I'm willingly going to take my kid out and riddle her with bruises."

Addison kind of shrugs, realizing he's right.

"Still," Violet shakes her head. "Sounds crazy."

"Sounds awesome," Kati counters with a big smile.

As everyone is finally out of their snow gear, Cooper, Pete and George head towards the cafeteria to grab lunch for everyone.

"Where's Pete been?" Amelia asks, confused, watching him follow Cooper and George.

"He always goes off alone," Violet waves dismissively. "It's something he started doing by himself when he was traveling and needed to do something fun, in South America. Now he just prefers to get out there and zoom around alone."

"Makes sense," Kati puts in, surprising them. "It's fun to go alone. It makes you feel like you're flying or something."

Charlotte's wide eyes soften a little.

"What are we doing for dinner tonight?" Amelia asks.

"We're at lunch and you're worried about dinner?" Violet laughs.

"The food here is amazing," Addison supplies. "We're going to the Chateau for dinner, and believe me, you're going to be in heaven."

Amelia gives Violet a knowing smile, and then the guys arrive back with trays full of food.

"Oh good," Charlotte says, examining the contents, as Pete jogs back for drinks. "And here I was worried you'd get something nutritious for the children."

Cooper chuckles, tickling Kati as he sits down beside her.

"It's Christmas," he replies, but Charlotte's unimpressed look doesn't fade.

"It's Christmas, so let's feed our child deep-fried brownies, french fries covered in cheese and gravy, and pizza?"

"Yes," Cooper replies, dead serious.

"I did promise her the brownies," Addison admits.

Charlotte shakes her head good-naturedly.

"Well I'm in charge of dinner," she says. "And breakfast."

"Which is why lunch is so delicious," Amelia stage-whispers into Kati's ear.

Charlotte elbows her, but Amelia and Kati laugh.

They finish lunch and wait a bit before getting back up on the lifts.

"Three o'clock, Cooper," Charlotte reminds him.

"We'll be here," he replies, kissing her cheek.

It's still hard for her to let Kati go do stuff like this, knowing the kinds of things that can happen, but she knows she has to loosen up a bit. Especially since her daughter seems to have a thirst for sports and exciting stuff like paint balling and ATVing.

So while they all head up the mountain again, Charlotte and Violet head back into the chalet to get some coffee and watch from the huge windows.

* * *

"Okay, be careful, honey," Cooper needlessly reminds Kati, as she and Jamie eagerly hurry away after getting off the chair.

"Bye Daddy!" Kati calls back.

He and George push off then, too.

They can't see which route the girls took after the main run breaks into four, so they pick one and head down.

His legs are starting to get sore; he's not as young as he used to be, that's for sure. When Kati was just learning to snowboard when she was five, Cooper lasted all day, no problem.

They get to the middle of the run and see a group of skiers and snowboarders, crowded around a fallen person.

"We should check it out," he calls over to George. "See if they need help."

George raises a hand to let him know that he heard him, and they head towards the group. There's about 10 people, and through the crowd, on the ground, surrounded by all of the people, Cooper's chest tightens as he sees a pair of legs in bright rainbow snow pants.


	26. Chapter 26

Cooper speeds up, hurrying towards the group.

He quickly flicks his bindings and steps out onto the snow, pushing through the crowd of people.

The sigh that expels from his lungs when he looks down is the loudest, most relieved of his life. It's not Kati. It's also not Jamie. Lying there in the snow, unconscious, is a little girl a couple years older than Kati. Her flaming red hair and freckles are all the more brighter due to the stark white of her pale face.

"What happened?" Cooper demands, kneeling down and feeling for a pulse.

"She got smoked," a teenager replies, his eyes glazed over and stunned. "Guy just blew down the hill and nailed her."

"What?" George frowns, looking around. "What guy?"

"He just kept going," the kids replies, clearly shocked. "He didn't even stop. I saw her get hit. He got her from behind and she just flew. Man, I mean she _flew_. He hit her in the middle of the hill, and she sailed over here. He hit her so hard. Is she okay?"

The pulse Cooper feels is weak. If she was hit from behind, there's no telling what kind of internal injuries the little girl could be facing.

He looks up at the kid.

"How fast are you?"

"Fast," he promises.

"Go down and get the medics up here. Tell them we need the stretcher, and that they need to call an ambulance. Now," he says firmly.

The kid hops onto his heel and takes off.

"Is she okay?" another little girl asks.

Cooper takes in the identical red hair and spattering of freckles.

"Is she your sister?"

The little girl nods, tears slipping from her eyes.

"I don't know yet, but we're gonna do whatever we can to help her, okay?" Cooper says.

The girls nods. No one else in the crowd seems to be with them, so she stands alone until George goes and kneels down to hug her.

Faster than he expected, a member of the patrol appears, speeding towards them.

As Cooper relays the details, he helps the guy load the girl into the basket so he can rush her down the hill.

"Did you call an ambulance?" Cooper asks.

"They'll be at the bottom of the hill by the time I get there," the guy replies. "Thanks, man."

Cooper nods.

"Wait. This is her sister," he adds, referring to the little girl. "Take her, too. They're by themselves."

The little girl abandons her skis and gets onto the skidoo before they take off down the hill.

"Are you gonna go meet the ambulance?" George asks, as Cooper stands up.

"Try to," he replies, snapping on his bindings. "As soon as we find Kati and Jamie."

They rush down the hill, and Cooper is already out of his bindings and walking towards the lift line up when Charlotte rushes out of the chalet.

He sees the look on her face and knows she must have seen.

"It wasn't her," he says immediately, and Charlotte visibly relaxes. "But I lost her on the hill."

They look around anxiously, searching for the matching snow pants.

"And here I thought they'd be the only ones with rainbow pants," Cooper mutters, looking around.

The three parents look around and are quickly joined by Amelia and Addison.

"What's going on?" Addison asks. "Those two get caught up in their races again?"

"Looks like it," George says, more a hope than an answer.

"What's with the ambulance?" Amelia asks, looking over to where the ambulance has arrived and is taking the girl and her sister.

"Little girl got hit on the hill," Cooper replies.

Addison and Amelia seem to notice the pants at the same time, lying on the stretcher.

"Oh my god," Addison cries, but Charlotte places a hand on her arm.

"It's not Kati," she says firmly.

Addison looks at them for an explanation.

"I was up on the hill right after it happened," Cooper explains. "We saw the little girl."

"Oh god," Amelia breathes, looking miserable. "Poor kid."

"Looks bad," Cooper goes on, still scouring the mess of skiers and snowboarders. "Barely had a pulse, and someone said she got hit from behind. I hate to think what her spine looks like right now."

"I think that's enough mountain for one day," Charlotte says quietly, her arms crossed as her eyes expertly search for her daughter.

"I think so, too," George agrees softly.

They tension rises as they search the sea of coloured pants and jackets.

"There!" Amelia suddenly says, and they follow her pointed finger to see Kati and Jamie emerge from the blue hill, heading towards the lifts.

Charlotte is already walking forwards through the skiers and snowboarders taking off their equipment and stowing it at the racks.

"Mom, we weren't _that _long," Kati breathes, rolling her eyes as she comes to a stop in front of Charlotte.

"I know, sugar," Charlotte replies shortly. "But it's time to go."

"Already?" Kati frowns, looking up at the clock on the chalet wall.

"Yes," Charlotte replies, and Kati recognizes the tone as one not to question.

She exchanges looks with Jamie and they follow her after taking off their stuff.

Cooper and George grab their daughters, hugging them too tightly.

"Whoa," Jamie raises her eyebrows. "What's this for?"

"Like I never hug my daughter?" George teases.

"Yes, but you don't always try to crush me into dust," Jamie replies.

George smiles and sets her down, running a hand over the French braid that Addison wove for her this morning.

"What's going on, Mommy?" Kati asks, as Charlotte clutches her gloved hand and leads them towards the parking lot.

"It's just time to go, baby," Charlotte replies, but silently remembers her promise to never lie to her child. "A little girl was hurt on the mountain and I've reached my limit of nerves for the day."

"Oh no," Kati frowns, looking around, but the ambulance is already gone. "Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure," Charlotte answers honestly. "Someone ran into her, really hard, and she wasn't lookin' very good."

"Jeez," Kati says, looking nervous.

"Who hit her?" Jamie asks, as they pile into the two SUVs they rented.

"Some moron who didn't even stop," George replies.

"Seriously?" Addison's forehead creases.

"Yeah," Cooper replies, sharing her distaste. "Apparently it wasn't a kid, either. Some guy smoked the little girl."

"Alright, let's just get to the cabin," Charlotte says pointedly.

Violet, Pete, Addison and Amelia pile into one of the cars, and the rest of them climb into the other and they head back to the house.

* * *

The next day is Christmas Eve, and thankfully, to Charlotte, Kati says that her legs are too tired to snowboard all day. Instead, she and Jamie take to the backyard to play in the snow while everyone else cozies around the fireplace with Baileys and coffee.

Cooper sighs, turning his laptop to face the group.

"Looks like it was worse than we thought," he says quietly.

Everyone reads the headline on the website he's reading. _Young skier dies on Whistler Mountain_.

"Oh my god," Violet breathes, her hand coming to cover her mouth.

Everyone sits in silence for a moment, taking in the news. Cooper turns the screen back and reads the story.

"Did they find out who hit her?" Amelia asks.

"No," Cooper replies. "The three people that saw could only say that it was a guy, maybe 18 or older, dressed in dark snow pants and a dark jacket. That was probably a huge percentage of the people on the hill."

"And he's definitely not going to come forward, if he didn't even stop after ploughing down a child," Addison mutters.

"That's manslaughter," Charlotte says shortly. "No matter which way you look at it."

"Agreed," Addison says, leaning back into the couch and wrapping her hands around her mug.

Silently, everyone turns to look out at the little girls, laughing so hard at each other that they're bent over, clutching their stomachs.

"That could'a been them," Charlotte says, dangerously quiet.

Cooper exhales.

"Let's just hope whoever this guy is has the decency to come forward," Violet says. "I'm sure the guilt must be suffocating."

"Unless he's a heartless asshole," Amelia replies. "Which, unfortunately, he seems to be."

A collective sigh sounds among them until Pete attempts to change the subject to their evening plans.

* * *

An hour later, the girls come in, rosy-cheeked and happy.

"Mommy, we have to move here," Kati breathes, climbing out of her snow pants. "Snow is amazing."

"Sorry, baby girl," Charlotte manages a smile. "We've got no plans to move anytime soon."

Kati shrugs, content with her morning in the snow.

"Hungry, girls?" Pete asks, peering into the fridge.

"As a horse," Jamie replies. "Clydesdale."

Kati bursts out laughing and Charlotte can't help but chuckle at them.

"What's it gonna be?" Pete laughs, as Jamie comes to duck under his arm and look into the fridge with him.

"What are…escargots?" she frowns, saying the word phonetically.

"It's pronounced es-car-go," Kati laughs, climbing onto the couch where Amelia is helping her untangle her wet braid. "And they're snails."

Jamie turns to stare at the group, a look of disgust on her face.

"Ew!" she cries. "Doctors and lawyers, and you guys are eating _snails_?"

"Hey, they're good," Addison says, entering the kitchen and tying the belt of her long sweater around her waist.

"I'll take your word for it," Jamie replies, still grossed out.

"How about grilled cheese?" Pete suggests, pointing to the several kinds of cheese they grabbed at the grocery store.

"And tomato soup?" Jamie jumps, her blue eyes lighting up.

"You got it," Pete grins, tapping her on the head with a package of cheese.

Violet and Cooper come to help him get lunch together.

"Whoa," Kati suddenly says, holding Amelia's coffee mug away from her. "This hot chocolate is crazy."

Amelia laughs out loud and takes the mug away from Kati, setting it back on the table.

"That's because it's not for eight-year-olds," she grins, going back to combing out Kati's hair.

"What's in there?" Kati asks, running her tongue around her mouth.

"Please tell me my child did not just drink liquor," Charlotte says, hands on hips as she stands by the couch after lifting her hair from the neck of her sweater.

"Of her own volition!" Amelia retorts quickly.

"Little girls don't need no volition when it comes to alcohol," Charlotte shoots back.

"What's volition?" Kati asks, taking the juice box that Jamie hands her.

"It's like free will," Amelia explains. "Choice."

"Oh," Kati says. "Then yes, Mommy, I did drink it with my own volition."

"Of," Amelia corrects her. "_Of _your own volition."

"Hey at least she learned a new word," Pete shrugs, grinning at Charlotte as she glares at him.

"Next time check what's in a mug before you start suckin' it back," Charlotte says to Kati, tweaking her nose.

"That little girl died?" Jamie says suddenly, and everyone turns to see her sitting at the desk in the main room, where the laptop is still sitting.

Silently, the other adults turn to look at George to handle this one.

"She did, baby," George tells her, coming to lift her from the seat and sitting on the couch with her instead. "She was hit really hard by the snowboarder and she didn't make it."

"Why?" Jamie asks, her forehead creasing with worry.

"Well," George begins, and looks up at the others, the doctors, for help.

"She was hit so hard that her head got really hurt," Amelia explains, still combing Kati's hair even though it's smooth and free from the braid. "Sometimes your brain can't handle that kind of trauma. And when the guy ran into her, he broke the bone in her neck and spine."

Jamie widens her eyes, looking back at her dad.

"Wow," she says, looking up at him from his lap. "I always thought you guys were being silly, worrying about Kati and me on the mountain."

"Does it make a little more sense now?" George asks kindly.

Jamie nods, looking at Kati, who is used to this kind of medical conversation but is still rocked by the news of the death.

After a moment, George jostles Jamie, smiling at her.

"Anyway, enough of the sad conversation," he says, not wanting his little girl to sit and think about this. "Smells like Pete's almost got those sandwiches ready."

"I do," Pete calls from the kitchen, holding up the spatula he's used to flip sandwiches, and George and Amelia nudge the girls to get them running for the table.


	27. Chapter 27

When Kati turns 10, Cooper and Charlotte throw her a party in the backyard. Hardly able to believe her baby is already in the double-digits, Charlotte feels oddly emotional today.

"You okay?" Cooper asks, as Charlotte arranges platters of food for the kids.

"I'm fine," Charlotte replies quickly, never one to easily admit feelings.

She looks up after a moment of silence and sees Cooper, still looking at her. She quickly looks over her shoulder, but Kati is upstairs in her room with Jamie.

"Just a little overwhelmed, I guess," she admits quietly.

Confused, Cooper looks around at the party decorations and food.

"Not this," Charlotte says, seeing him. "Kati. She's just getting so big. She doesn't…"

She's not sure she wants to divulge this fear of hers. It's been bothering her, and part of her knows it's silly, but part of her is scared anyways.

"She doesn't need me so much anymore," she finally admits.

"What?" Cooper stares, brow flying up. "What are you talking about? Honey, she needs you every single day!"

Charlotte tosses the bag of candy she was opening and walks away, busying herself at the fridge.

"Sweetheart," Cooper says, following her.

He closes the fridge when she doesn't respond, forcing her to look at him.

"Just because she's not in diapers and can feed herself and do things for herself, doesn't mean she doesn't need you."

Charlotte stubbornly tries to appear fine, jutting her chin out slightly as she raises her head proudly.

"Even when she's 50 and has a family of her own, she's still going to need you. Even though you'll be all old and wrinkly and senile. She'll still want her mama."

Charlotte considers this, and exhales. "I guess I'm just feelin' like she grew up overnight. Before we know it, she'll be 16. Wantin' to go to parties and hatin' me just for bein' alive."

"Do you honestly think our daughter is going to be one of those girls?" Cooper replies, looking doubtful.

"No," Charlotte says. "My baby's about as sweet as they come. But every daughter hates her mother at one point."

"Well, Kati's not every daughter. And you're not every mother. I figure we just keep doing what we're doing, because so far," Cooper grins, pulling his wife into a hug. "I think we've done a pretty amazing job."

Charlotte can't help but smile. She knows he's right. Kati's been a blessing in every way, and there's never been a day that Charlotte hasn't thanked god for her.

At that moment, Kati and Jamie come barreling down the stairs. For the past three years, the two have been inseparable. Constant sleepovers, several visits to the Dean's office, and a yin-and-yang relationship has made them the best of friends.

George's new firm has been taking off, so Jamie's been spending more and more time at the Freedman's house. Nobody minds; Jamie may be exuberant and have a huge personality, but she's always been welcome. And Kati loves having her there.

The girls must have a sixth sense, because Kati's bedroom faces the backyard; not the front, and just then someone rings the front doorbell. They race to answer it.

"Happy birthday, honey!" Charlotte and Cooper hear Jessica Mason's voice.

"Thank you!" comes Kati's reply, and a moment later the two girls and Axel are racing through the house to the backyard.

"They're like gazelles," Jessica says, as Charlotte and Cooper round the corner to greet her.

"A mile a minute," Charlotte agrees, shaking her head. She closes the door behind Jessica, who's got Axel's three-year-old sister Allegra on her hip.

Cooper, of course, is already holding out his arms to the little girl, who happily leans out of her mother's arms and into his.

She's grown up knowing the Freedmans, and she has always been happy and comfortable with Kati's paediatrician father.

"I hope you don't mind," Jessica says, following Charlotte into the kitchen. "Aaron was supposed to watch her, but Atticus' baseball game had a late start and he wasn't going to be home for another hour."

"Of course not," Charlotte replies, with a wave of her hand. "Y'all are always welcome, the whole gang of you. Tea?"

"Oh, please," Jessica accepts, taking a seat at the island.

As the women begin to chat, Cooper dances Allegra around the living room before taking her outside, to see what the kids are up to.

Axel and Jamie are already in the pool, taking turns diving. Kati, not the least bit wet, is on the sidelines, pretending to judge their dives.

"Maybe I should start taking diving lessons," Jamie's ponders, standing on the diving board. "I mean, I've gotten 10 out of 10 on every dive."

"That's because Kati's the judge," Axel laughs.

Kati splashes him with a swipe of her hand, shrieking when he splashes her back.

"Kati's an awesome judge," Cooper speaks up.

"Yeah," Jamie agrees, teasing Axel as she sticks her tongue out.

"I know," Axel replies, and he walks up on the diving board and hurries towards Jamie, tackling her and forcing them to fall into the water.

In response, Kati holds up a piece of paper with a one written on it.

The doorbell sounds again and doesn't stop for the next 20 minutes. Violet and Pete arrive with Sam, Naomi, Addison and Amelia. Then Kati's friends arrive with some of their parents in tow.

Most of the kids play in the pool, except for Kati and one of the new girls at school, Megan Grant. Megan was born in Scotland but her family moved to the U.S. when she was three. So while she doesn't have the thick accent, her parents do. And they're a bit hard for some of the parents to understand. The youngest of three, Megan's a bright, mischievous redhead with huge blue eyes and a penchant for pranks. Needless to say, she fits right in with Kati and Jamie.

Kids at Chadwick are typically together from elementary school to high school, so these are the kids Kati will most likely graduate with, barring anyone moving away or something. With Axel's new friend, Chase Bishop, the five kids have become a little group.

As Cooper is carrying out a platter of food for the BBQ, Megan's father, Liam Grant, approaches him.

"Can a gie ye a haund?" he asks.

Cooper pauses, still not used to the Grant's brogues.

"He asked if you need a hand," Addison leans over and says to Cooper.

Liam just laughs, taking the platter from Cooper. "Aye, one day ye'll understand me," he chuckles.

"I don't think I will," Amelia says to Addison, as they watch Liam and Cooper arrange the BBQ area. "How can you?"

Addison shrugs. "I dunno. I've just never had a problem understanding accents."

"Charlotte's accent is enough for me," Amelia shakes her head. "And don't tell them, but I'm glad Kati's accent is gone. I couldn't even understand _her_."

Addison laughs as Amelia realizes Charlotte is right behind them, setting up the table. Charlotte raises an eyebrow and shakes her head at Amelia.

"No offence," Amelia adds as an afterthought.

"Oh, none taken, Dr Shepherd," Charlotte replies, and she hides a grin as she heads back inside.

"She's not actually mad," Addison lets Amelia know.

"You never really know with her," Amelia replies suspiciously.

They head inside with Violet to help Charlotte out.

* * *

Kati has always hated having Happy Birthday sung to her. At first she had just always turned really red, but after her eighth birthday, she'd pulled her mother aside and begged her to stop. Since then, Charlotte just gets everybody to shout "Happy birthday!" together, while Kati's blows out her candles.

"No song?" Megan's mother, Tracy, asks, surprised.

"Oh no," Violet shakes her head, helping Charlotte pull the candles from the cake. "Kati was born hating it, so…" she shrugs.

"Oh, that's too bad," Tracy replies.

"She doesn't seem to be missin' it," Liam tells his wife, nodding towards Kati as she and Jamie and Megan giggle, attempting to smear icing on each other's faces.

Violet appears from the house, carrying a stack of paper plates, closing the sliding screen door behind her.

As Charlotte is plating slices, suddenly a loud smack sounds.

Everyone turns to look towards where the sound came from, and sees Axel and Chase sprawled on the deck; the screen door torn beneath them.

Shocked, Axel and Chase stare towards their parents, wide-eyed. They're not sure if they're in trouble, and they're not sure how mad Kati's parents will be. The boys had been racing outside and hadn't seen the screen door. The flimsy frame is bent and the screen itself is in pieces, but the boys are unharmed.

A stifled giggle sounds, and Charlotte turns to find her daughter covering her mouth as she laughs. Jamie bites her lip to try not to laugh, knowing that the boys broke something so they very well may be in trouble.

But Charlotte remembers being little, and having a friend's laugh be contagious. And suddenly Jamie bursts out laughing, so Kati stops trying not to laugh. In a moment, everyone is laughing. The boys' parents and the Freedmans hurry over to assess the damage.

But both boys are laughing, too, and neither has a scratch on them.

"I am so sorry, Charlotte," Cassie Bishop apologizes, helping her son up.

"It's fine," Charlotte waves a hand dismissively, checking Chase carefully for any hidden cuts. "Boys will be boys. And this screen door was about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Don't worry, Cassie."

Charlie Bishop helps Cooper gather the pieces of screen and they take it to the garbage bin.

Jessica Mason gives Axel a meaningful look, and Axel turns to Charlotte. "I'm sorry, Dr Freedman," he says sincerely. "I didn't mean to break your screen. I didn't even see it!"

"It's alright, honey," Charlotte replies, giving him a smile. "No one's hurt, right? Now go on and get your cake before Kati and those girls eat it all."

Axel and Chase jump up and scramble over to the table.

"I'll pay to have it replaced, Charlotte," Jessica insists, as the three women stand up.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Jessica," Charlotte replies. "Honestly. I've been buggin' Cooper for weeks to get a new one. Really, it's fine."

Back at the table, the boys have joined the other kids and are eating cake like it's their last meal.

By the time they're finished, the kids are all dried off and scrambling to sit on the grass so Kati can open presents.

As usual, she gets spoiled rotten. Aside from her expansive extended family, Charlotte and Cooper invited all of the kids from Kati's class. Only three kids couldn't make it, so there are 15 10-year-olds filling their backyard.

"This is…a lot of energy," Amelia says, watching as Kati opens another gift.

"Yeah," Addison agrees.

"Oh come on," Naomi smiles. "It's great!"

Amelia stares at Naomi as though she's from another planet.

"What?" Naomi laughs. "You really don't want kids? Even one?"

"No," Amelia shakes her head slowly. "I really don't want kids. They're loud and fast and they always feel like the floor of a movie theatre."

Addison chuckles as Naomi makes a face.

"I love Kati," Amelia adds, gesturing towards their niece. "She's all I need in the kid department."

"I want some," Naomi replies, leaning on the bar. "At least three."

"Me too," Addison smiles wistfully. "Well, two. A boy and a girl."

"Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't have one," Naomi tells them.

"Alright," Amelia says, picking up her drink. "Well, I'm going to explode if I don't get away from this conversation, so…"

She gives a small smile and walks away. She finds an empty chair next to Violet, who's watching Kati open her gifts.

"Am I an alien because I don't want kids?" she asks, sitting down.

"What?" Violet makes a face. "No. Absolutely not. Kids are…so much work."

"I think we're the only two people here who don't want their uteruses inhabited," Amelia mutters.

"You said it, sister," Violet holds up her glass, touching it to Amelia's.

They drink.

"Is it weird that Charlotte and Cooper provided a wet bar at their 10-year-old's birthday?" Pete asks, sitting next to Amelia, since she's in his seat.

"No," Amelia replies. "It's weird that everyone here thinks I should have a baby, just because I'm physically capable of it."

"Oh god," Pete shakes his head, drinking from his beer. "This again."

"Well, tell Addison and Naomi to stop drooling over the idea," Amelia shrugs.

"You might change your mind one day," Pete suggests.

"No," Amelia replies easily.

Pete looks to Violet.

"What?" she asks.

"Come on," he tilts his head. "You're saying that even in five or six years, you still won't want a baby?"

"I'm saying that's a very likely possibility," Violet replies placidly.

He chuckles, shaking his head, and takes a drink. "We'll see," he says.


End file.
